My Journey as a JetPunker

You know, it seems like yesterday I found this site. But if I think about it, JetPunk has been quite the journey. I was around eight years old and was searching for country quizzes to test my knowledge. Around then, I realized that I had a keen passion for geography. After searching around some more, I came across JetPunk. The first time I took the countries of the world quiz was when I realized just how big our world was. Even though I liked learning about the subject, it didn't seem possible at that time that I could actually learn all 196 countries.

Those first couple of weeks after the day I found JetPunk, it was practically all I could think about. When I was supposed to be doing homework, I was on JetPunk. When I was sitting at the dinner table, I had stolen my dad's phone to play countries of the world. I don't know why, but I had found this new drive to complete that quiz. After about 2 more weeks, I scored around 160/196. That was such an ecstatic feeling, because I couldn't believe I had actually named 160 countries. Two weeks before, I couldn't even name a country in Europe, and now I could name countries around the world. I remember being so proud that I showed my score off in my dad's face...and well, he couldn't believe it either.

The first time I got a perfect score on the Countries of the World Quiz, I was in the 4th grade (Year 3 for the British). I was sitting in the living room, and as soon as I saw a fully green map, I squealed. My time sucked (it was 14:57), but I didn't care. I had just made a major accomplishment I wouldn't even have dreamed of doing the previous month (my fastest time ultimately got down to 3:15, another thing I'm super proud of). Then, I remember telling everyone so boastfully that I could now name every country in the world. Obviously, they didn't believe me because it wasn't everyday you met someone that could name/type every country in the world.

Throughout 4th-6th grade, I started exploring more of the site. I discovered so many of its features, and I remember thinking to myself how cool they all were. I eventually came across the "Create" button on the homepage, and that was when my quiz making journey began. But at first, I was making horrible quizzes. I had practically no idea what I was doing, so I would release 4-5 low quality quizzes every two days. I didn't even realize what I was doing would get me no attention, but I kept doing what I was doing while hoping for some kind of fame to follow. Needless to say, though, I received almost none. And at first, I couldn't understand why. But looking back, I think the reason was pretty obvious.

However, I became more mature in 7th grade (around the age of 12). At this moment, I looked back at all the quizzes I had created. And well, let’s just say, I wasn't proud of most of them. I had wasted so much time on quizzes nobody would even want to take, and then, on top of that, had expected them to attract some kind of attention. From that point on, I vowed to myself I would never make a low quality quiz again. Even if it was a simple text quiz with a few answers, I'd still want to give it some thought. In the end, I realized I didn't want to publish a quiz that I had whipped up in a couple minutes. I realized it’s better to follow the philosophy of “quality over quantity.” Anyone can make a quiz. But what sets your quiz apart from the rest?

I don't even know where to start with the server. It has been such a journey. But first, I'll say I discovered the Discord server in December 2020. I was 12...and many of you may be thinking,

"I thought the age limit to join was 13?"

And you would be correct (but I didn't really understand the consequences of being underage on a discord server at that time).

You see, I was a mature kid in real life. But as soon as I engaged in an online environment with 200 other people, my immature side became more prevalent. From the very beginning, I was no more then a self-centered, attention-seeking, for lack of better word, brat. And even now, some of those guys may hold that reputation of me.

My biggest problem during this time was definitely being attention seeking. Any moment I could, I would do or say something that would garner some attention. I was so narcissistic that I wanted the conversation to be centered around me. Looking back, I can almost certainly imagine how many people I pissed off. To make matters even worse, I didn't even realize I was being a jerk. It was so normal for me to be my narcissistic self that people would stop talking to me altogether.

Fast-forwarding to July 2021, I made a pretty dull-witted mistake. I had temporarily left the server during this time period, so I thought it would be funny (before I tell you what I did, just know I had a horrible and childish sense of humor) to make an alt account and join the server with it. I'm not even sure why I did that honestly...all I can say is that it was stupid.

I left the server from my alt account in just five minutes. I also joined the server again from my original account, which was another mistake. Two more months pass by, and I casually confess that I had joined the server from an alt. I didn't even think much of it, because I didn't think there would be any consequences. Long story short, a moderator directly messaged (DM for short) me and then banned me thereafter.

In the time period I was banned, which lasted about 1 1/2 years, I reflected on my actions. I was becoming older and knew I didn't want to return to my old ways. I was about to be a high schooler, so if I still acted immaturely, I didn't think there would be hope in the future. I was also messaging several server members privately at the time, which gave me some insight into what was happening on the server. But more importantly, they gave me tips on how to improve myself.

Fast-forward to the summer of my freshman year (9th grade), I was given the opportunity to join the server once again. I was ecstatic that I was given a second chance, as only a few people received the opportunity. More ecstatic was the feeling, however, that I got to meet so many new people.

I was still having a bit of a problem with being attention-seeking, but I can proudly say that I became much better with it as time went on. People started chatting happily with me again, and it was just the best feeling. I even started collaborating with many members on quizzes and blogs, many of which became major accomplishments that I'm super proud of.

The people on the server were another thing. Everyone there was so open to communicating and being open. It would be so easy to start a conversation or talk about a problem someone was having. The discord server definitely taught me how to be more open-minded, and to just listen; because you never know a problem someone else is going through.

Unfortunately though, I had to make the difficult decision to permanently leave the server (I had temporarily left a couple of times) due to school. School was becoming way more serious, so I had to focus on that at the time. Because I, for one, knew being on Discord 20 hours a day wasn't doing me any favors. I ended up losing access to that account afterward, so I couldn't join the server again even if I wanted to.

In the end, I just want to say how much I appreciate everyone on the server...and that if I ever meet a lot like y'all, I'm never going to take them for granted.

Looking back as a 16-year-old, I'm definitely not proud of many things I've done throughout my time on JetPunk. If I could take back all of those occurrences, I would in a heartbeat. It took me a lot longer than I'd like to admit for me to become fully mature. But now I'm aware of my mistakes, and hopefully, you are too. Don't make the same mistakes I did. Thanks for reading my story.