That's right, 7 years of being with this community. Although there are some people out there with more then double my time, it's still an important milestone. 7 years is a long time, it's a long time to both spend time on any one place or job, but also a long time of development as a person. I joined b.net when I was 12, wanted those sweet stats. Now I'm 19, and I never imagined my life turning out the way it did, and on the way here I had a consistent group of people to joke around and talk to on here. When I wasn't hanging out with friends and was just at home this was my place. And I have met some great people through this site.

I've met friends that have gone on to be marines, athletes, doctors, gone to incredible schools and have achieved so many things. All on here. Sure not everyone was ever perfect on this site, there is no doubting that but it was my community. I was a Bungie fan, I loved Halo, and I loved the Flood. My boys, so many of you are gone, and so many memories, so many great posts I remember will always be there for me. And I've kept in touch with many of you, but there were so many great members we've lost over the years.

I also have a lot of great memories with Bungie itself. Remember the Reverse Mail-sack? The event that was a flip on DeeJ's weekly mail sack that had Bungie asking us questions? http://halo.bungie.net/news/content.aspx?cid=32199 An idea that I and a couple others came up with that came to be. And although it wasn't regular, it was the interaction between the community and the Devs that always kept us coming back. How about the Steak event? https://halo.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=steaktakular   All you had to do was get the steaktacular medal against a team of Bungie employees and you'd get yourself a free steak shipped to you on them. How awesome is that? I never got one (even though I got the medal) but hey, a cool event nonetheless. One of my personal favorites was when my picture was used as the header of the weekly update, and this was after getting ragged on for it not being good enough or "bad framing". Urk just put it up and very quickly people were congratulating me and saying how awesome it was. Quick turns, but appreciated nonetheless. I can't fine the page unfortunately, but it was in October of 2013 or 2014.  I played with Shiskha and a few others, remember Shiska? Few do. I avoided the ban hammer for years until a certain mod decided my thread didn't have any discussion value, yet it had 300+ comments. The first time I had ever been banned on anything, it was short but still. And I remember laughing, I remember the communities response. Everything. Stuff like that is what would turn off some people, but it never turned me off from this place. I kept coming back (and never banned again).

Back to the topic of playing with people, this community was the first time I ever played games with people I didn't know. Halo 3 custom games with community members for hours on end. And what's funny is I miss those days, Cops and Robbers never ceased to amaze me with its ability to cause me to laugh so hard I couldn't breathe. We would even take group photos and post it on the site (can't find that thread either).

There are so many inside jokes, so many threads that no one knows about now. And when someone brings it up you can tell who has been there for a while because they will get it. For example, barely anyone knows that the only person to blame is Stosh. It's his sole fault for everything bad that ever occurs in Bungie titles. Yet people blame the developers.

But to me, the best part of this community came at the turning point of my life. Everything in my life picked up so heavily, but on here it was the opposite. The Darkness as we call it. The time between Reach and the announcement of Destiny, and all the little hints and tags that came with it. Soon™. Always Soon™. No new people came, no new announcement or news. It was us, DeeJ, and Urk who would pop in here and there. It was us, the diehard community. We were either idiots, or true fans, and I like to believe its the ladder even though we posted some truly stupid things. We waited, we became tight knit we became more of a community then we ever had been because all we had to hold out for was hope. We knew something BIG was coming, but we didn't know. Per Audacia Ad Astra. Alpha Lupi. All these weird symbols we all frantically tried to figure out. And then it came, Destiny.

Unfortunately, that was when the community was split, and well it leaves us where we are today. But needless to say, the rest is history.

I'm thankful for the Writer's Corner, The Average Joe Interviews, The non stop Community Carnages, even The Friends List. Oh and I could never forget about the blue hat boys, you know who you are. I got mine right before b.next. and man was it a joyous occasion. The ban made me wait so long. Now I have another blue hat, but oddly enough it only lasts one year. Only we will know the struggle of being stuck at Legendary.

I never regretted my time, I never saw the years I spent on here as time wasted. I met some great people, shared some great laughs and learned a thing or two about things I never knew. You guys ever hear about that Clockman who haunted many children in the 80's? Some say the search still goes on.

Oh and by the way, I played 600+ hours of Destiny and its some of the most fun I have ever had in a game. And I have met a dozen of people (who all live incredibly close to me) all because of this game. The Nexus Strike had its way of connecting me to fellow South Floridians. Not only that, but it was one of the first games I could ever play with my older brother consistently. Which is something I value an incredible amount.

Thank you for 7 years, and I'll always be a member of the Seventh Column, no matter how many cracks show or how little we are looked at.