iDaisyRay
- Feb 25, 2021
- 6 min read

My Experience With Second Life | The Virtual World

Updated: Nov 15, 2022

SecondLife has been an active online experience since the day it was open to the public in late 2003. For those who have never used this virtual service, it may appear to be just like any other online game. However, I would not personally place SecondLife in the category of a game. I am still considered a newcomer, I suppose, but what I have experienced has made me a firm believer that SecondLife is much more than any mere game. This blog posting will be a little different from my original posting, where I posed the question of if SecondLife was worth it. That posting was from a younger version of me, the version who had not yet experienced what I have in these past three months. This article will encompass everything I know so far and why I have come to the decision of not labeling SecondLife as a game. As this is also a fashion blog, please see below for the style card of this outfit.

Businesses & Jobs:

For those who are unaware, I originally came to SecondLife because I heard stories of how easy it was to build a business here. I‘ve seen plenty of YouTubers discuss it and even read up on some articles. However, let me tell you now that it is not as easy as one might assume. Which is fine for me, as it is similar to real life. You don’t just wake up and decide you are going to make a business. Especially not in a virtual world where everything in my eyes is a few degrees harder. Not only do you need a plan, but you also need something marketable. Something that will make someone decide to spend their money. This is not real life, so people do not -need- these things. Therefore, your target is to create something people want. That can be done in many ways from a sexual experience, items for their avatars, land, or even a roleplay experience.

I focused on all the above with the exclusion of sexual experiences. I have nothing against it, in fact; it is likely the fastest way to make money. I‘m just an awkward person by nature and would do an awful job at roleplaying a sexy and ready woman. Therefore, I stuck to my strengths, which are conversations. This works wonders when I am roleplaying a waitress or bartender. I‘ve enjoyed this so much that I have plans to one day open my very own restaurant. The experience is extremely enjoyable and gets better if you are roleplaying with others who also enjoy it. My second job is clothing and mediocre art. I have been using my months here to learn about marketing, creating, and designing. I still have an abundance of things to learn, but creators in SecondLife may be the number one way to build a successful business. As we use avatars, there will always be a need for clothing, hair, cosmetics, and everything else that is used to decorate our characters. Furniture and items likely the runner-ups as people enjoy decorating their lands. Which is something I can attest to. I absolutely love shopping for furniture and decorating my home and or business. My third but not least is purchasing land and renting it out. This has been the least successful of all my ventures, but I imagine if I focused all my time on it, I could do better things.

That is my biggest flaw when it comes to my business. I was so excited to try everything; I never really focused on just one thing. I imagine it would be wiser to work on them one at a time. I likely won’t take my advice, but I certainly hope you will, I know people who are making up to two thousand dollars a week, and many make a lot more. I know I can get there, and I know you can as well. It just takes time and a serious game plan. Do not allow yourself to be sidetracked if this is something you would truly like to make happen. It can be hard as SecondLife is full of distractions, but I have adjusted my time spent here so that whenever I am logged in, I‘m doing something productive towards my goals.

Social Interactions & Friendships:

I was not expecting to find friendship here or to have that feeling of eagerly awaiting to talk to someone. I will admit, it’s been a long time since I have had friendships that did not include family members because of past failures. Things have happened in my life, which made me wary of meeting others. Therefore, I wasn’t expecting to make any connections here. However, I have found it is easier to gain friends while in the game. I would say it is because they are avatars, but you get to a point where you forget you‘re just on avatars. Friendships build quickly, and you no longer think of that person as just a character. They have now somehow found their way into your heart and mind. The best part is meeting people from all over the world and learning about different cultures from the people who live them. With that being said, while it is easy to make friends, it is also easy to lose them. I cannot speak for every situation, but in mine, I found out that a friend was not who she claimed to be when it came to her personality. It hurt me even though I have never met the woman. She is no longer just a faceless person; she was a friend just as real as any individual you would meet in person. So it hurt, and it taught me that even though it is easy to make friends, you still have to be careful. It is a virtual world, which means people can pretend to be whoever they want to get whatever they want. These are not characters created by a company, these are real people and real intentions. Some bad and some good, it is up to you to decipher which.

Relationships & Love:

Like friendship, I was not expecting to find love here, nor was I looking for it. Though, as they do say, love finds you when you least expect it. Unlike friendship, I was more hesitant to attempt a relationship for many reasons, some that I already listed. It is difficult to start a relationship with someone you have never met in person. People can be whoever they want, and you can never fully tell what someone is like until it is likely too late. Which is how my first and last relationship happened. I shall not name him because even though I had to end things, he had his enjoyable moments. When we first met, things were wonderful, but ever-so-slowly it dipped and I soon found myself wishing he would not log in. I know he will read this and hope he knows that I really wish things had not gone so sour with us, but I appreciate everything he brought to my life, even if we both said things we cannot take back. I will not go into details, but I say this to give each of you a warning. It is not easy to enjoy this experience when you have to constantly worry about letting the wrong person get close. However, it is not all bad and scary. I’ve met plenty of people with healthy relationships. Some have moved it into real life, and some are strictly online. My point is that not all relationships will be good and not all will be bad. It is up to you if you want to take that chance, just as you would with real life.

With all of that said, my point was to prove each of these things is too real for us to consider SecondLife to just be a game. You cannot earn this much money with just a game. You cannot fall in love and build a family in just a game, nor can you make lifelong friends in just a game. I‘m aware not all my experiences were good, but like life, things will not always be good. It’s about ups and downs, and I would not redo my experiences here. I appreciate everything that has happened to me since joining, from the good, the bad, and even the ugly. It has taught me how to move when going forward, and I am eager to see what becomes of my SecondLife months from now. I would love to assist anyone who has questions about the above topics. I am in no way an expert, but I think I have experienced a lot in my short time here.