In Second Life, watermelons are so strongly identified with me that anywhere you see a watermelon, even if its owner isn't aware of me, they likely will be soon—which is a good reason to give a friendly hello.

Through my own actions, I've reinforced this, calling myself the Watermelinden, dressing in watermelon-colored clothes—usually neon pink and green with complementary similar shades—and repeatedly written at length about why I love watermelons.

People often talk about shaping reality. Expressed in Second Life, we have the ability to change our virtual reality like never before. Yes, gripes exist about lack of control in some areas, but consider: if you wanted to ban a nasty neighbor from your real-life house, do you think it'd really be feasible to stop them? Compare this to a parcel in SL, where they'd go bouncing off a NO ENTRY wall. And could you prevent a gun's bullets from the plosive impact of slamming someone into a wall, and uh, killing them?

I haven't seen many references connecting Second Life to The Matrix and Snow Crash like I did in late '04, but perhaps this is a sign it's becoming increasingly ubiquitous, more unto its own. There's whole savior parallel between Neo and Superman and Jesus Christ, each with their own symbolism.

I then think about my own personal ability to shape reality: I could have picked different fruits. I could have been all about pears, durian, or even sour grapes. But this isn't a parallel universe from my point of view, and as a result, when people want to mention me, it's often done with a strong taste of watermelon. Pondering this deeper really blows my mind—the effect I've had on others. This is usually accompanied by several easy-to-identify traits:

Infact, the whole aspect of my being a composite alloy, a simply complex (and complexly simple) personality, throws people for a loop. Some get one image of me locked into their mind and it's not a freely-flowing, adaptable one. Me and watermelons are memorable, and that's great for recalling who I am, but at the same time, I'm about more than the watermelons. And it's safe to say within SL, watermelons didn't define me… I defined them.

It all makes sense in hindsight. I make accidents look deliberate. And this may sound overly motivational, but each of us has hopes + dreams. Each of us has the ability to be really special. Not all of us capitalize or even begin to explore the potential of what that means, but I love seeing people overcome adversity. No matter how many things have gone wrong—I know my life at times was a total fuckup. Hard to see that now, and many don't know, but that's who I was. I can never make it obvious enough: take the present me and my happiness, turn that 180 degrees.

Things are different now, so when I see someone in a situation like I was, I really want to reach out. I scour the grid for inspirational stories. I believe Second Life is a powerful platform not just for educational, entertainment, and business experiences, but personal triumphs of the mind, heart, body, and soul…