What HNZ means to me 📜

HNZ is old. Like, Gwen Stefani’s Hollaback Girl was Number 1 in the US when HNZ went live level of old. Not many forums have survived since then, so clearly, this place is something special, but what is that something special? What makes you keep coming back for more?

To mark 20 years of HNZ, we're asking you to write an original piece to tell us What does HNZ mean to you? This can come in any form you like, from a poem, a birthday speech, a roast if you wish, or even a piece of art or music. Wherever the muse takes you, we're excited to see it!

I'm looking forward to what you come up with!

 

[Lilith Ilves]

Here's my lil letter to HNZ and what it means to me!

Dear HNZ (and the community within),
I got introduced to you in the middle of last year, when joining I was incredibly nervous and scared. I remember thinking 'What if I don't fit in?' 'What if everyone will hate me?' 'What if my writing actually sucks and I'll just feel awful and never wanna write anywhere again?' 'I'm probably just gonna be active a few weeks and then my interest will fade and I'll fall off...?' Well here we are 9-10 months(?) later. Since joining there has not been a single day I have not checked the site, ACTUALLY A LIE! I was super sick and slept a whole day this spring but that doesn't count, does it? . Even when I went to Italy, I checked everyday the site at one point or another.

The site has become a safe space for me, something that is almost always open in the background. I have found my love for writing again and creating characters through this site. I have made new friends. I have grown more confident in my own writing. Needless to say this sites magic for me (and probably for a lot of others here) isn't just in the magic of writing and creating our little worlds and lives, it is also within the community and people we find and connect with. All my fears of not being welcomed in, not fitting in, not being able to stay connected and interested, of people hating me were in vain. It's actually pretty damn cool and I love it so much.

With loveee,
Faye <3

 

[Professor Edward Pirrip]

Here's my lil letter to HNZ and what it means to me!

Dear HNZ (and the community within),
I got introduced to you in the middle of last year, when joining I was incredibly nervous and scared. I remember thinking 'What if I don't fit in?' 'What if everyone will hate me?' 'What if my writing actually sucks and I'll just feel awful and never wanna write anywhere again?' 'I'm probably just gonna be active a few weeks and then my interest will fade and I'll fall off...?' Well here we are 9-10 months(?) later. Since joining there has not been a single day I have not checked the site, ACTUALLY A LIE! I was super sick and slept a whole day this spring but that doesn't count, does it? . Even when I went to Italy, I checked everyday the site at one point or another.

The site has become a safe space for me, something that is almost always open in the background. I have found my love for writing again and creating characters through this site. I have made new friends. I have grown more confident in my own writing. Needless to say this sites magic for me (and probably for a lot of others here) isn't just in the magic of writing and creating our little worlds and lives, it is also within the community and people we find and connect with. All my fears of not being welcomed in, not fitting in, not being able to stay connected and interested, of people hating me were in vain. It's actually pretty damn cool and I love it so much.

With loveee,
Faye <3

Faye that was so lovely to read, thanks for sharing. You are a wonderful writer and I forget you haven't even been here a year yet because you're so ingrained into the community now!

 

[Lilith Ilves]

Faye that was so lovely to read, thanks for sharing. You are a wonderful writer and I forget you haven't even been here a year yet because you're so ingrained into the community now!

I swear I'll cry!!! Glad to be a part of this place <3

 

[Cassandra Pretorius]

so let me explain: House is not a home without a HNZ. My safe harbor and ohana.
*ohana- family

 

[Demetrius Wagner]

There's a Māori whakatauki (proverb) that I feel like encapsulates why this forum is so active and has lasted so long. It goes like this:

Hutia te rito o te harakeke, kei hea te komako e kō? Kī mai ki ā au, e aha te mea nui? Te mea nui o tēnei ao? Māku e kī atu, he tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata.

It translates to:

Pull out the shoot of the flax bush, where will the bellbird sing? Tell me, what is the great thing? What is the greatest thing in the world? I'll tell you - the people, the people, the people.

The basic meaning (and there are multiple interpretations but this is the one I mean) - the people here are what keeps this forum going. The way we take care of each other, respect each other, encourage each other - that is the key here. He tāngata - the people.

The extended meaning goes into the meaning behind the flax bush. It's an important plant to Māori, because you can weave the flax to make things but it is also a metaphor for family or community. The plant grows from the centre and splits off, so if you pluck out the shoot, the plant won't grow. It divides into two as it grows, then a shoot will grow between them like two parents and a child. And so it grows like that. So, new people bring life to the site and we help them along, as we were helped along when we first started. And if we don't do that, the plant - the site- will perish. The bellbird is a native bird that feeds on flax bush flowers. That's just another layer, which I think more refers to the natural world (which is important to Māori traditionally) than it does to community. But you could argue the bellbird represents the success of the plant - the site - because the bellbird has a beautiful song. Community nourishes our creativity. It's really up to interpretation.

Hopefully that all makes sense. But yeah, that's how I feel about this site in a nutshell. Here's an image of the flax bush just for reference.

 

[Freddie Lagowski]

All right, guys... prepare to cringe

I really love this website,
They call it HNZ(ee),
Some prefer to call it Z(ed),
But I must disagree.

What makes it quite so special,
Is lengthy to define,
So step with me a moment,
Back to winter of '09.

A girl of just eleven then,
I wasn't much a writer,
I peered upon my sister's screen,
To see what did excite her.

It looked so fun! I had to join,
I signed up right away,
And soon was quite addicted,
Running home from school to play.

The early days were awkward,
Oh, I really was a fool,
Plagiarised some banners,
'Cause I thought that made me cool.

The truth is I was nervous,
My anxiety was endless,
That girl with weird obsessions,
Was afraid she would be friendless.

I wasn't very confident,
Lacked social skills and grace,
I never thought it possible,
To truly find my place.

Years went by, I came and went,
Now suddenly eighteen,
I found a little confidence,
To let myself be seen.

I made some brand new characters,
I made them strange like me,
And when you said you liked them,
It set my scared heart free.

This was what I wanted,
I saw it now so clear:
To capture in my writing,
All the things I used to fear:

The things that make me vulnerable,
The things that bring me glee,
The things that keep me up at night,
The things that make me me.

And as I got to know you all,
I slowly realised,
The people who were weirdest,
Were the ones I idolised.

Our joy for writing binds us,
We're all a little strange,
And even if that frightens you,
I hope you never change.

So thank you all for showing me,
I do not need a cure,
My love for you, and all the site,
Forever will endure.

<3