1

The title kind of gives it away, but I’m retiring from wikiHow.  

I’ve been grappling with this for a while now.  I don’t want to leave wikiHow!  You guys have all impacted my life in powerful ways.  In normal life, I am very shy.  On here, though, I feel like my opinions and contributions are valued and respected.  That, to me, has been absolutely amazing.

I know this is the internet, and not real life.  But you guys have shown me ways of interacting with people that I never before imagined!  I’m gradually learning to apply these lessons to real life, and I’m blown away by how differently people perceive me when I put my best foot forward and try to just be myself.  Thank you so much for that.

I feel like I know many of you personally- FutureHow, PianoLover1016, EmilyPole, HelperOnWikihow, WikiaWang, HappyWiki, Lara K., Snowflakeiesta (I spelled it correctly, right?), JayneG, Galactic Radiance, and many, many more.  I’m really going to miss interacting with this incredible community of people- wikiHow is a special place for sure!

After (lots) of thought, though, I’ve realized that I can’t continue participating here.  As many of you know, I have ADHD.  This means that, when I find something I really, or in this case, REALLY like, I hyperfocus on it.  A lot.  And when I hyperfocus on something, other things tend to get forgotten, or pushed aside.

As important as this community is to me, there are other things that need my attention more- my family, my schoolwork, my music, and, most importantly, my faith.  I love being on wikiHow so much that many of those things have taken a backseat.  That’s not okay.

I guess what I’m trying to say is, I really love this community, and I’m really, really going to miss it, but I have to prioritize better.  So this Friday will be my last day, and then I’m going to put up a retired sign on my user page.  In the next few days, I’ll still be on like usual, wrapping things up, hanging out in the forums, maybe playing some Uno or Battleship if anyone’s interested.  Maybe someday, in a year or two, or even maybe half a year, I’ll come back.  I hope I do!  Until then, though, I’m going to be retired.

Sorry this got so long; I hope I explained it well enough.  I’ll miss you guys!

2 Likes
2

AWWWWWWWWW NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I’LL MISSS YOU SOOOOOO MUCH

But I respect your decisions, no matter how hard it may be to accept them. *sobs like crazy*

I’m sad to see you go, very very sad. 

But I understand. 

I do.

I want the very best for my best wikiFriend. The very best.

And if that means pretty much saying goodbye forever… I guess I’ll have to deal with it. You’ve already made up your mind, I can’t change that. You’ve been a wonderful friend, I have considered you an amazing friend and person, it’s hard to say goodbye.

Hope to see you come back, Reep.

-Jaeden, a wikiFriend from the start

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go set my wikiMood to negative 10. (Just a side note: you didn’t cause my low wikimood, it was a mere byproduct of my emotions.)

2 Likes
3

I’m gonna miss you so much! But I wont say good-bye. Goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting. And I will never forget you Reep!!!

2 Likes
4

Don’t cry Jaeden!  Now I’m crying too  :_ (

Aww!

This is harder than I thought it would be!!  I’m an emotional mess over here now…

2 Likes
5

It’s okay, if wikiHow is dominating your life, it’s fine to say goodbye, I guess…

2 Likes
6

AWHH DANG IT :<

You’ve made yourself one of my role-models, and for that, I’ll miss you. I understand your decision, though.

3 Likes
9

I try so hard not to lose my cool in the forums.  I have always tried to seem very calm.  But

STOP STOP STOP STOP!

It’s only for one year, and ya’ll keep making me cryyy!  I’ll be back!  I promise!  Cross my heart!  

I thought it would be less dramatic than this…  If one more person makes me cry…

3 Likes
11

Aww, man… Having you here has been great! Gosh, I awarded a barnstar for the first time to you! It’s as hard for you to say you’re leaving as it is for us to see you go. It’ll be heartbreaking to say goodbye for now, but due to the situation, I understand if it’s for the best. I just hope you take care of yourself! Enjoy your time off, and get back to those things you’ve been missing out on. I wish you the best; you deserve it! I’ll be looking forward to possibly seeing you again sometime. And if you ever want to talk again, you’re always welcome to email me:slight_smile:

2 Likes
12

Oh gosh, I came to this page like, Reepicheep is retiring from her job (if you’re an adult, that is.) Unfortunately, I found this post very… paradoxal. 

I just wanted to say, we’ll miss you! I’m so glad I got to work alongside you and help wikiHow further towards its goal. I’m going to say that I’m going to really miss you. I don’t know you a bunch, but the feeling’s the same… I remember your thank you messages and some tips you left off for me. If you’re leaving, a permanent puncture will last… but I’m also glad that you’re doing something else!

Whatever it is, just keep in mind that you’re not going to be forgotten.:slight_smile:Goodbye… but enjoy!

And is that I chipmunk or squirrel on your PFP? Whatever it is, it’s gonna be a chipmunk in my mind…

2 Likes
13

Oh Reep! I’m not lying when I say I’ll miss you. Having you around was awesome, and I’m honestly so sad to see you go. All your warm, friendly messages and hardworking ethic never went unnoticed. Whenever a message from you popped up on my talk page, it always put a smile on my face. I hope you know what a wonderful person you are! 

But of course, I 100% respect your decision to leave - you know yourself best:slight_smile:It would be selfish of me to ask you to stay! I wish you the very best and hope you stay happy and healthy. Whenever you decide to return, you’ll be welcomed back with open arms, I promise you that! 

3 Likes
15

A sensible decision from an eminently sensible contributor. I hope you enjoy your time doing other things. I wish you all the best in your other pursuits and in life generally.

3 Likes
16

Why?:frowning:

2 Likes
17

@HumanBeing , @Lara_K ., @WikiaWang , @HelperOnWikihow , thank you guys for being so understanding about this.   I’m going to miss you guys so much!!

1 Like
18

Also, @WikiaWang , nope, Reep is not retiring from her very first job anytime soon XD

3 Likes
19

I’m going to miss you Reepicheep! 

1 Like
20

However, most people retire from websites, if they have an account that’s a few years old. You’ve only been here for four months. 

Just a little fact. 

2 Likes
21

@Victor-Soria , anyone can retire at any time, at any place in their editing journey. This may have just been me taking it the wrong way, but this seemed to have implied that people can only usually retire if they have been here for a few years. Again, sorry if I took this the wrong way.

23

Hi Reep - no need to feel sad about leaving! Everybody decides to take a break from time to time as our real lives get busier and priorities change. wikiHow is pretty powerful in the sense that I also had some issues with shyness and self-confidence when I was younger (still kinda do), but my wiki experiences throughout the years has given me a new perspective and maturity as I grew older and learned how the world works. I smile when I think back to those really amazing talk page messages we sent each other that day. I’m glad to know I’ve been a source of encouragement for you. You seem like a really smart kid with lots of potential. So don’t worry about the wiki - we’ll always be here when you decide to stop by in the future. Meanwhile, find your passion in life and keep reaching for the stars!:slight_smile:

3 Likes
25

I’m not saying that people HAVE to retire in a few years. I just said that most people retire after a few years. 

1 Like
26

Like I said, I might have taken your comment the wrong way. Sorry.