Well friends, it has been an incredible journey...

[TheIknimaya]

Happy Avatar Day!

It was one year ago today, December 18, 2009, that Avatar was released in theaters here in North America, among other countries.

Avatar would be the first of many things for me. Avatar was my first 3D movie, my first IMAX 3D movie, the first movie that I absolutely could not stop thinking about, the first time a character (Neytiri) in a movie captivated me so strongly that I couldn't stop thinking about her, and I had never joined a forum about a movie before either. It was a first in so many different ways.

I myself saw Avatar for the first time on February 18, 2010, the day that changed my life forever, the day when I became a whole new person. I went to see Avatar because everyone was talking about it and it was supposed to be a good movie. Little did I know what awaited me, an experience that words would be unable to describe. When I left the theater I was at a loss for words on how to describe what I had just experienced.

I was taken to the simply beautiful planet Pandora, and shown everything that calls Pandora Home. I saw all the different beautiful plants and unique animals on Pandora, I was introduced to the Na'vi, a people similar to us in many ways, yet so different and unique. The Na'vi truly are incredible, their beauty is beyond words. I saw incredible beauty, both inside and out, in Neytiri. She captivated me like no other woman before, she is just, perfect you could say.

I saw the incredibly beautiful bioluminescence that once you see, you cannot help but be mesmerized by it. The same goes for all of Pandora, it captivates and mesmerizes you in such a strong and powerful way unlike anything you have ever felt before. I was unable to take my mind off Avatar, it was simply too powerful. After my second viewing of Avatar, I felt really sad, which I would later discover was Post Avatar Depression.

I was so strongly captivated by Avatar, I thought I was alone, but I soon found forums where many others felt the same, places where us Avatar fans can share our thoughts and feelings about Avatar. I met so many wonderful people that felt the same way about Avatar as I did.

Friends, brothers, sisters, I am eternally grateful for this place and for all of you, and that Avatar has brought us all together, no matter where we are on Earth, the planet we call our Home.

I would like to give special thanks to all of the Administrators on Tree of Souls, for running such a incredible site, and to all of the wonderful people on here as well.

It's been an incredible journey everyone, let's make the years to come amazing as we anxiously wait for Avatar 2 & 3.

Oel Ngati Kameie Aysmukan si Aysmuké.

[X.,.Pandora.,.X]

Imagine, if we are still here, th PAD after Avatar 3 is over

[CyanRachel]

Wow, terrific post, TheIknimaya! I share many of the same thoughts and feelings. Happy Avatar Day! Oel ngati kameie.

[SaphirJD]

Yeah.. Until the Days where Avatar 2 and 3 arrive.. let us have a brilliant time

Really awesome post

[Fighter-of-Wars]

Great post. I always love reading these. It's truly wonderful to have such great friends here.

I feel Stanley's PLUR is appropriate here.

Peace Love Unity and Respect to all

[Tsyal Makto]

Wonderful post TheIknimaya! Here's to one year of Avatar, and hopefully many, many more!

"I pray in my heart that this dream never ends."

[Sempu]

I see you, TheIknimaya. We are companions on a wonderful, magical journey.

[Hunter of the Glade]

Excellent post, brother. Oel ngati kameie.
Heres to an excellent film that has brought us all together and allowed us to form an outstanding community

[TheIknimaya]

Originally Posted by X.,.Pandora.,.X

Imagine, if we are still here, th PAD after Avatar 3 is over

It will most definitely be powerful after the movie ends and then for however long after that. It will eventually be less prominent, but I don't think the feeling will ever go away entirely for any of us.

Originally Posted by CyanRachel

Wow, terrific post, TheIknimaya! I share many of the same thoughts and feelings. Happy Avatar Day! Oel ngati kameie.

Thank you! Oel ngati kameie.

Originally Posted by SaphirJD

Yeah.. Until the Days where Avatar 2 and 3 arrive.. let us have a brilliant time

Really awesome post

Thanks! May the years ahead be great!

Originally Posted by Fighter-of-Wars

Great post. I always love reading these. It's truly wonderful to have such great friends here.

I feel Stanley's PLUR is appropriate here.

Peace Love Unity and Respect to all

Thanks so much. You guys are amazing.

Originally Posted by Tsyal Makto

Wonderful post TheIknimaya! Here's to one year of Avatar, and hopefully many, many more!

"I pray in my heart that this dream never ends."

Thanks so much! Here's to Avatar!

Originally Posted by Sempu

I see you, TheIknimaya. We are companions on a wonderful, magical journey.

Thank you. Oel ngati kameie. It truly is a magical journey.

Originally Posted by Hunter of the Glade

Excellent post, brother. Oel ngati kameie.
Heres to an excellent film that has brought us all together and allowed us to form an outstanding community

Oel ngati kameie.

Thank you, and here's to Avatar! A film that brought so many great people together!

[Earthlover18]

Excellent post, I can totally relate.

I think the deep love and friendship we have for each other at ToS makes up for the fact that we are physically scattered around the globe. I <3 you guys.

[tallbluewanderer]

*comes out of lurking*

It unquestionably has been an incredible journey. To be sure, it's had its ups and downs (I've had a lot of the latter lately, which is why I've been AWOL from ToS for so long [speaking of which, does anyone here even remember me? ] -- but I digress), but all the wonderful things that came out of it were worth even all the dark times I personally have gone through. ... Wow, what I'd give to go back to when it all started...

(caution, entering reminisce mode)

I saw Avatar for the first time on a Saturday evening on the 6th of March, in a 2D theatre with miserable projection. The theatre had been using the same film reel for four months on end; the audio was incredibly glitchy, the projector was misaligned, and the end result was so unimpressive that my family talked to the manager and demanded a refund. ... I didn't even notice. By the film's end, I was just sitting there, numbly staring at the screen, not quite comprehending what had just happened.

I don't remember how I reacted to Avatar at first -- perhaps I just thought of it as an incredibly good movie (certainly it was the first film I'd seen in recent memory that actually brought me to tears) -- but I do remember that I was instantly hooked. I spent the entire next morning browsing the web, reading everything I could find about Avatar, starting with the Wikipedia article and eventually finding my way to AF by way of a certain infamous CNN article. As a general rule I don't join or even read forums, but I kept finding myself returning to AF over the next few days, struck by how truly wonderful the people there were, and before I knew it, I was spending more time lurking on AF than on any of the tech websites I usually read. Then, just a few days after I found AF, the theme change and forum split happened, and I found my way to ToS.

I lurked here for a while, and then finally decided that I wanted to be a part of this amazing family ... those first few weeks were the most wondrous experience I've had in my life. For the first time ever, I felt like I was truly at home... the love between everyone here was unimaginable and like nothing I'd ever seen before.

*hugs everyone*

[Tsyal Makto]

Sounds like you had a good year, too. And hopefully many more.

[Eltu]

What an amazing thread this is.

It has been an incredible journey indeed, and we have each other to thank for that

[Helicoradian]

+1 to TheIknimaya and all the people on ToS

Needless to say, it's been one hell of a year!

[Marvellous Chester]

Great post TheIknimaya. I was a late comer because I only saw Avatar in May but it was a night I shall never forget. I often think about the evening I saw it for the first time, having my head full of new thoughts and ideas. Neytiri, Pandora, the Na'vi - everything seemed right about Avatar.

It has been an incredible journey (not that it's even close to over). I look back at the person I was before seeing Avatar and I feel sick, thank Eywa James Cameron made this film! I'm a new better person, I'm heading in a direction I had never considered before now away from the hassles of careers and money towards Nature, friendship and love. The scary thing is, if we hadn't seen Avatar none of us would be here and we wouldn't have changed. Words cannot express how thankful I am for Avatar, AF and TOS.