Reader's comments on this article Add a new comment on this article

from afflick Friday, January 23, 2009 - 19:19 (Agree/Disagree?) This will be my last comment.  I joined this community seven years ago.  At that time, I was just...not me yet.  I didn't know where to go or what to do next, I only knew I was never going back to The Family.  I had to discover a new me.  And then, I found movingon.org.  It was wonderful to suddenly stumble across so many people like me who were thoughtfully posting on our shared experience. Growing up in the COG/TF is like nothing else.  It is its our own unique experience, a tiny band of travelers in a distant land.  I am so grateful to Jules and the many, many thoughtful commenters who posted essays on their experiences day after day. YOU were my therapy. You kept me thinking and exploring and delving into the parts of my past that were paintful and confusing.  It is because of your williness to expose your darkness that I found light. Slowly, I figured stuff out: who I was, what I wanted, how much I wanted to work towards success.  In the years since I found this community, I determined that I WAS good enough to go to school and follow my dream of being a lawyer.  It was another poster here, Nancy, who let me know that was possible even with my tiny, insignificant amount of education.  I went to school, got a scholarship to Oxford, met a wonderful man who became my husband and best friend.  Eventually, I did go to law school.  And it was tough.  But now, I am a year away from graduating. I am light years away from the sad, confused young woman living in lies and unhappiness. I credit movingon with giving me daily insight into my past so I could move ahead.  Gradually, I stopped coming to this website.  When I did, the topics felt foreign.  And that's a good thing! It is good because it means I am no longer that sad, lonely, lost girl.  I am that lost little girl's advocate now and I give credit to movingon, amoung others. To all of you, best of luck in your lives. Thank you for being part of mine for so many years.  To Jules, thank you for starting up and keeing this website going, for openly sharing your experiences and for fighting for all of us.  To all the posters, thank you for your insight, your thoughtfulness and your honesty.  You are all heroes to me. When I created my profile, I posted the quote from Dickens, "Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show." They have. And so, with that, I sign off.  Goodnight and good luck.   (reply to this comment)

From neez Sunday, January 25, 2009, 21:35 (Agree/Disagree?) I don't understand people who do the whole dramatic "final comment" bit. It's just a website. Call me cynical but I find it hard to believe that these people never type in this url and hit 'enter' ever again. And I understand what you're trying to say here, but honestly all I'm hearing is: 'Thanks for the help guys...Now I'm outta here...good luck with that'. If you really credit movingon with helping you so much(and MO was/is made up of individuals just like you with their own lives/careers etc), then don't you feel even the slightest urge to return the favour? Even if that means just checking in occasionally to give people advice(the same kind of advice you recieved and are clearly now qualified to give) when you can? You know, like Nancy used to do.(reply to this comment)

From well Monday, January 26, 2009, 19:04 (Agree/Disagree?) I agree with one sentiment from Diamond, that is that Julia, the heart of this website, is gone, and the website with her.  We all suffer, true.  But it may be wise to let people know once the suffering has the continuous overhand, that others should not expect us to keep our previous promises.(reply to this comment)

From well well Thursday, January 29, 2009, 03:44 (Agree/Disagree?) I'm not sad to see Julia gone, but to be fair not only her, but lots of the other, colorful characters are gone. Also, the site has become pretty controlled and stifled with crazy censorship, ridiculous double-standards etc., killing creativity and controversy, and just basically becoming lame, etc. ... In addition, there is now facebook, and a bunch of other social networking sites which young people are using a lot more to keep in touch. While once a fan and contributor to this web site, I seldom visit anymore, all the cool kids are gone or on silence restriction. (reply to this comment)

From GoldenMic Tuesday, January 27, 2009, 09:52 (Agree/Disagree?) Snide... (reply to this comment)

From well Wednesday, January 28, 2009, 19:58 (Agree/Disagree?) Whatever your take, I don't think you know the circumstances so I disregard this remark of yours even though I usually value your opinions. this stuff has real consequences on some people who did things in reliance on others' word and not only that but additionally have honestly gone out of their way to support faltering friends beyond their own means, hitting walls and burning out in turn. I did not mean either to single out the webmistress (perhaps I should have named more names) nor to be snide toward somebody for whom, believe it or not, I care very much, and worry with every continued day of unreachability.(reply to this comment)

From GoldenMic Thursday, January 29, 2009, 10:48 (Agree/Disagree?) You're right, I spoke up without knowing the circumstances, and that's kinda' stupid of me. Probably, you understand my automatic defensiveness when "one of my own" is being critiqued or attacked, a pretty normal reaction for an SGA. The fact is, though, you have every right to your reactions, too, and I should have respected that you, too, were speaking from within the circle, not attacking from without.(reply to this comment)