Here we are again: the end of the year. And what an interesting year it has been!
For me, it was an especially great year. Why? I got my beloved community back. After joining in 2012 (that's over 7 years ago), I immediately came to love ACP and its community. As I got to know more and more people and learn through experience and dedication, I began to appreciate everything even more. Back then, it was a wonderful community (as it is now), and I have many fond memories. What I learned from the experience and the people that helped me grow will always stay with me—and make no mistake, my friends—these invaluable experiences will stay with you as well. Always remember: if you're there for ACP, ACP will be there for you.
Those memories will stay with you always.
—Shaboomboom, Former ACP Leader & Guardian
And with all of these fond memories—almost 5 years of constant involvement and fun—I soon realized along with everyone else that Club Penguin would be shutting down, and with its end, would bring an end to armies as we had known them for so long. With that, we entered into the final months of Club Penguin—and ACP—which slowly started to bother me more and more, as you could imagine.
Once we were there for the final minutes of Club Penguin (people from multiple armies, both veterans and newer troops), I started to better understand just how heartbreaking this was. While there was hope for ACP to move forward, there were no plans in place. After all, as powerful as hope can be itself, it can't bring a community back from the brink of the end. And, though this hope certainly lasted for me, it was, sadly, an empty hope; there was nothing that could be done. And with that, although with a valiant spirit, our beloved army met the darkness. Needless to say, it was a heartbreaking experience and period of grief that I will never forget.
Now, with the official shut down on March 29th of 2017, until September 29th (which is our 13th birthday, if you didn't already know) of this year, ACP had ceased operations for over 2 years. For those two years, though I was busy with my own endeavors, there was something that was bothering me. It was eating away at me that the community I loved and held so dear wasn't around anymore. And though I knew I'd have to live with this and move on, it still didn't quite feel right. After all, others would no longer be able to experience the feeling of being involved in something so great as the ACP, and this stuck in the back of mind. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do. I would visit the original ACP website and conduct some historical research every so often, perhaps in a mostly helpless effort to alleviate woe and sorrow.
It wasn't until September that I was informed of a potential ACP revival and requested to share my thoughts. For the first time in years, a piece of my heart that was left heavy and broken felt lighter, and a new sense of hope sprung to life within me.
Since September 29th, 2019, I've felt a feeling of excitement I hadn't felt until getting involved in the return of ACP. And in the past few months, I've felt great happiness and excitement to see the army clad back in action, hear the army boots march once again, and feel the camaraderie between us all, through thick and thin.
With almost 8 years of being involved with ACP, I've understood something very important: our army is more than just an army or another online group; it has so much character and personality and meaning and uniqueness—and potential. But even greater than this is the true nature of ACP. Beyond the details, it's a community—a family.
Each of us will experience life differently, but it’s always better to experience that life with others. —Shaboomboom, Former ACP Leader & Guardian
We're all here to have fun, learn a few life lessons along the way (perhaps more, perhaps less; the experience is unique to everyone), make friends (in honor of Club Penguin's original goal), and contribute to something bigger than ourselves. It is my hope that ACP will remain around for you all to enjoy and benefit from for many years, and I'm sure many other veterans share this sentiment.
If you are newer to ACP, and perhaps younger, you may not yet fully appreciate the significance of what we have together in this wonderful community—and that's fine; with time and experience comes gratitude and understanding. Search for the meaning ACP has to YOU and how it has helped, improved, or changed you. Search for why it inspirits you, why it intrigues you, why it is important to you at all. This deeper realization, this passionate spark, this inner fire, is what ACP needs.
Communities as rich as ours don't form every day. Enjoy it. Cherish it. And see ACP into the next decade with your inner flame alight, guiding the next generations of the army forward, and ensuring our amazing legacy continues for years to come.
As we enter the New Year, I'm very excited to see what we will accomplish together. Although we've been in operation for only about 3 months, 2019 has been an exemplary year, and I'm very proud of you all. It warms my heart to see new recruits ascend the ranks and show true appreciation for our community. It means so much to us old-timers, you have no idea. Do not forget what we have accomplished and what you have accomplished, hold your head up high, and be proud to be in the legendary Army of Club Penguin.
Enter the new year—the new decade—with a renewed and invigorated spirit to learn, grow, strive, and succeed in all that you do in ACP, and beyond.
Together, there is nothing [we] cannot accomplish. Help each other, draw upon one another, and always remember the power that binds you. —Master Splinter
To a decade full of fun and success———
—and courageous, lionhearted marching.
Immer Fortschreiten,
(Always Forward)
ACP Legend & Advisor
