Why I Love Guild Leading

 

 

A Love of Guild Leading

If you’ve known me long you’ll know there’s very few things I love more than my World of Warcraft guild. They’re my second family. They’re my friends.They’re home. When we get a chance to just hang out on vent or in chat, and just talk conversation quickly turns into something you would hear at a family reunion. “Remember when Jason ate old cookie dough he found in his trunk?” “What about when Lunch Ice Blocked during Sapphiron & wiped us?” This month my guild turns seven years old, and I’ve been the leader since day one. I could write all day about the people I’ve met since that guild charter was signed, or the shenanigans we’ve been through over the years. I won’t do that to you (okay, I’ll TRY not to).

 

Guild Leading Brings a Change

Today, I want to cover a different reason why I love guild leading. Guild leading boosted my confidence. I’m not going to lie and tell you guys I was a shy kid. I don’t think I had a shy bone in my body. I also never doubted myself in very many situations. I’m a Leo, what can I say? All this was very me growing up, but in my 20s things were changing. I was getting sicker, I was losing independence, I was losing that over abundance of confidence I was (thankfully) born with. My real life friends were having kids and getting dream jobs and I was home playing the Sims.

 

Simple Guildly Beginnings

Then I began my journey through World of Warcraft. I started my guild so my brother, boyfriend, and myself at the time could easily communicate. I had no idea what I was really signing up for. It wasn’t very long until people started needing things. They needed dungeon groups. They had group quests. Eventually they wanted a raid team.  Everyone looked to me for help. I wasn’t the person needing help, but I was the one helping others.

 

 

Incognito Guild Leading

No one knew I was disabled in my guild other than the few I knew in real life. I wanted to keep it that way. I liked the responsibility and the way everyone looked to me for help. I didn’t want anyone to change to the “poor sick girl” attitude I got so often in real life. I hid my disability as long as I could, but when the truth finally did come out a funny thing happened… no one acted any different. I was still Short… Guild Leader. Everyone still needed things, respected my decisions, and nothing changed. So every day I was in Azeroth. I was scheduling what was needed. I was logging in voice chat even though I was self-conscious about my voice. I was leading.

 

Guild/Raid Leading

People classify a successful guild in different ways. Although, in the early days of my guild our realm looked at one thing: raid progression. During the Burning Crusade bigger, hardcore guilds one in particular made it a point to repeatedly tell me my guild was nothing because of our raiding progress. I simply wanted to raise a successful, well respected guild. With things in real life changing, my energy went into my guild. While we are casual raiders, I wanted to kill bosses. I didn’t care about being first, I cared about finishing. I wanted my guild to be seen as successful. I wanted to be seen as successful. I wanted to be faced with the challenges and come out victorious.

 

 

Guild Leading to Victory

Indeed we won. We weren’t realm first boss killers, but we cleared raids while they were current content. The Lich King we took down right before Cataclysm began. It’s a victory I’ll never forget. The next expansion was the same. Deathwing went down before Mists of Pandaria was invaded. This expansion we’re on course to get Garrosh before we time travel to Draenor. I did it (with my raiders of course). For every “you’ll never” I was told… we did.

 

Guild Leading Level 25

The biggest confidence builder wasn’t from raiding though. It was from earning the first Realm First to be acquired on our server. We are our realm’s “Realm First Level 25 Guild”, and in the process we surpassed a rather hardcore guild. Again, we weren’t expected to win… but we did. I had turned my little leveling guild into something respected.

 

 

More Than Just Leading a Guild

It may not make sense to some readers, I understand that, but to me those in-game victories meant more than just another boss down or some silly achievement earned. They were me succeeding. They were me building a place where there’s no unbeatable challenge. I was surrounded by people who weren’t too busy seeing my disability to see who I am. Instead of having to stay home & play the Sims while people I graduated with were getting dream jobs; getting married; and having kids, I was having my own success. While I was getting sicker; needing more help; and loosing abilities in real life, in Azeroth I was the leader of this guild who needed my help and was growing stronger every year.

 

Guild Growth & Personal Growth

Seeing my guild succeeding and growing, for 7 years now, reminded me of that kid who never doubted herself. I built this. I may have been sick and I may have been weaker, but none of that mattered. I am still the same as I was in my younger, more independent years…  it just took an amazing guild to remind me what I was capable of.

Not only can you tell me why you love guild leading or your guild leader in the comments below, you can find more of mine at our Opinion column!