Nothing ever stays the same. In 2012-13, making friends at SG was a joy -easy, fun. I took a year off and met many SG's in person which was interesting - young and fun, even if a bit narcissistic. When I rejoined in 2015-16, it was less easy, and less fun. Maybe it was the new site format, maybe it was me, maybe it was the lustre of the aesthetic coming off, maybe the influx of SGH dandelions scrambling for likes. This is my observation, not a complaint. Reminds me of the closing verse of my fav poem Ithaca by CP Cavafy (1911), talking to Odysseus as he returns homesick to Ithaca after twenty years:
Ithaca gave you the beautiful journey;
without her you’d not have set upon the road.
But now she has nothing left to give.
And if you find her poor, Ithaca did not deceive you.
As wise as you’ll have become, with so much experience,
you’ll have understood, by then, what all Ithacas mean.
