Damit I almost cried ; ;
Reading some of you guys' comments brings back memories, and it's good to know I'm not the only one who feels how I do! I was first given a linkpearl while beating up bunnies as a level 4 BLM or something by someone I never see around anymore, and seemed like he was an impossibly high level at the time, too. This person was rarely on his own shell, however it became a home for several of us newbies and we went on all kinds of crazy adventures. One of my LS members wanted to go to Jeuno one day, so we did; we had no reason to but it sure was fun. I remember gawking at how expensive it was; even still I believe I harbor some enmity for Jeuno simply because it's just not the place to be for a level 8 BLM! We did all kinds of crazy things that we shouldn't have done before level 10 and had a grand ol' time doing it. I could go on about the people, places, experiences, but I doubt anyone's going to read this far into the thread. :)
Unlike the protagonist in the SWF file and many of you, I'm extremely lucky. Despite some of us (including myself) going away for a few months at a time and losing a couple shellholders, we've managed to stick together and still interact almost daily on a linkshell we now own ourselves. Interestingly, the shellholder will probably be my roommate next month, actually. We invite new people and other friends we meet to join us on our adventures. I've had times where I've been linkshellless or frequented other linkshells for a while, but all of us keep becoming drawn back to our old group of friends, and it's with them that I feel most "at home" in Vana'diel.
If you're still reading this after all my sentimental bs, then I must be hitting a chord so urge you to do what I did the other day with an area you haven't explored. I was bored, and tired of farming or looking for xp parties. I accepted an outpost supply mission to an area I had never been to before and was well beyond my level, but it was the only one being offered at the time since Windy only owned like two areas this week. I figured out how to get there and was able to complete it easily with sneak/invis, even after I found out I had to go all the way through Altapa Desert and I didn't have a map of the tunnel I had to go through to get there. It was an adventure, but not enough. I decided that since I had gone through the trouble of completing the first chapter of CoP I might as well put my Lufaise Meadows access to good use. I explored the meadows, and eventually found my way to Tavanzanian Safehold. It was an amazing experience talking to the NPCs there and learning more about the darker history of Vana'diel. I even tried to visit Riverne - Site #A01 but was of course unable to do so quite yet. :)
Anyway, I'm blathering on but my point is that as easy as it is to get caught up in the level and gil grind, it's just as easy to escape it. I wish, too, that I was able to play this game with a group of true adventurers who were as clueless as me and have the paitence to spent time figuring out what to do next, or form a lv50 party just to get papyrii for that greedy ******* Maat. But we can still adventure in our own way, and make good friends in Vana'diel to go adventuring with. And would you know, just next week my LS is going to start a level 10 static where we'll go to exotic places like Carpenter's Landing instead of the stuffy ol' dunes. I look forward to it.:)