Reflection About five years ago, I stumbled upon an app on my iPod- Opuss. Little did I know at that stage that it would consume so much of my #life, and become so important to me. It's strange how things that were once so central in your #life slowly slip out into the peripheral, eventually drifting out of view entirely until they're left to collect dust in the corner of your mind. This is what happened with Opuss- or rather, #life happened and Opuss was left on the wayside. Honestly, I had almost completely forgotten about the site younger me had obsessed over, the drafts of unfinished stories saved in various files on my laptop the only reminder that that part of #life had ever happened. That is until last week, when clearing through my spam emails, I came across one from something called Opusia. It sparked something in my brain, and suddenly everything came back to me. It took me a few minutes to reset my password and log back in, because come on, who remembers a password from 2012, and younger me was entirely not responsible to write that stuff down, and then I was in. Rereading everything I'd done, the #poems and the stories, the competitions and the projects, I was shocked. Not in a bad way, I was just surprised at how confident I was on this platform. posting openly and honestly about myself, participating in the writing competitions and even trying to set my own up! Having become someone who tends to shy away from making a show of myself on social media, the presence I had back then was surprising! Looking back on it, the freedom of being able to write anything I wanted, to explore the pretentious teen angst and the developing crushes in an environment with the supportive anonymity of Opuss probably had quite a large influence on me growing up. I've definitely grown as a person since then (time tends to work that way!) but even reading the things I published in the few years I was active on Opuss, I can see the progression, and see how events in my #life had in turn influenced my writing. It's strange to be able to see a whole era of your #life played out in fiction before your eyes, and I'm thankful I have that chance. Opuss was incredibly important to me, and I guess in a way it still is, this rediscovery opening up a window to the past I didn't have previously. I am a nostalgic person. I like looking back, I like seeing how much I've grown, seeing how events that seemed like the end of the world eventually fade into the background. The past offers me clarity in that sense, and perspective, but it's also oh so easy to get stuck there. A lot can change in five years- I'm now studying Physics at university, something I never thought could be possible, living by myself for the first time and exploring who I am and the things that are important to me. The things I was stressed about in 2012 seem inconsequential now, and I guess in five more years time, the events now will seem the same. This is simultaneously comforting, and also terrifying, so I guess it's appropriate for Halloween! Talking of which, I have a party to go to (still don't have a costume yet, but we'll work something out!), and I really should stop procrastinating getting ready! I don't think I'll write in the way I did, or even know if I'll write at all (university is incredibly busy!!) but it's nice to know that Opuss is there, in a new guise, but there nonetheless, just like it's been there throughout my #life. It's been nice to rediscover this, and I just want to say thankyou to everyone who wrote supportive comments, and liked my posts. I don't know if you're still active on Opuss, or if I'm just talking into the void at this point, but just know you helped a young girl who was shy and nervous find her feet, and set her off onto the path she's always wanted to follow. She's still not quite there yet, but she's so much closer because of your support. Thankyou, and maybe I'll see you around, Bethan.