Things You Love, But Will Never Have…

The second most popular pastime on this site is the ownership of formidable battle pets. People spend millions of Neopoints in training their pets, and I have to admit, I'm rather jealous of their phenomenal battle pets!

Thirdly, people love to collect trophies for their user lookups. I recently met someone with 51 gold game trophies, and I was absolutely dumbfounded by her dedication and gaming skills!

That said, there are a lot of other things that the people on this site want, but admittedly, will never have. For instance, many people are covetous of special expensive and rare items, like Super Attack Peas and Bony Grarrl Clubs, even though they know they'll never own them.

One thing that I admire like crazy, but will never have, is to have 5 themed accounts. I have one themed account that is dedicated to all things winter, with a Snowager-themed lookup, 2 Ice Hissis, and a Royalgirl Bori (complete with furry blue cape), but my other 15 pets are all a mix of various species and colors that don't really go together. I would love to own a themed account all about Royal pets, for instance, but the only Royal pet I love is the Royalboy Draik. And I recently saw someone's Stealth-themed account and sighed with longing, but to be honest, I'm not even a fan of Stealth pets. I guess I should just be happy with my (random assortment of) Plushie Kiko, Blue Lutari, Maraquan Gelert, and other beloved but inconsistent pets!

I thought I'd wander over to the Help Neoboard and ask the people there what goals THEY admire, but will never have themselves. I received a lot of thought-provoking and interesting replies! I omitted the commonplace ones from this article, such as expensive pets and galleries. Instead, I wrote about the more interesting and unique goals that the players have!

When I posted my wish to have 5 themed accounts, a ton of people agreed with me! And here I thought I was the only one! One player told me that she despises all things Faerie, but is jealous of her Neofriend's Faerie account, complete with Faerie lookup, Faerie gallery and 4 Faerie pets. The overall effect of her Neofriend's account is so magical and special that she is now thinking of making a similar account, one that would feature Wraith pets instead. She'll never have a Faerie account, but she might as well have a Wraith one! I gave her a virtual high five and wished her much luck with her goals!

One of the players I spoke to would love to be Neo-famous, which means she'd like to be a popular Neopets player, but she only logins into Neopets once a week, every Friday evening. She wishes that she had more time to socialize on the Neoboards, but for now, she's bogged down by work and real life. I gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder and wished her much luck with being Neo-famous someday!

Lots of people admitted that they want more pets, but already have the maximum of 20. I smiled at their zeal! I, too, have a list of pets that I love, but simply don't have the room for. I can't downsize my accounts, since the 20 pets I have are much beloved permanent pets, but I still dream of someday owning a Robot Draik or Robot Krawk!

One interesting player wanted for Neopia to be updated. She wanted for there to be trains, subways, planes, cell phones, and other modern accoutrements in the world of Neopia. I thought this was intriguing! These things will probably never come to pass, but it's nice to hope!

The Pound Neoboard is full of avid pet collectors, and a lot of times, these pet collectors are stalking pet names such as "Sandra" and "Happy," waiting for them to be purged from the system and able to be created anew. One player lamented that she would love to create a certain pet name, but doesn't have the time to stalk the Create-A-Pet page and grab the pet name as soon as it's available to be created. I felt really sorry for her, and hoped that her other pet goals were much easier!

The most popular subject on my thread was the proposal of new pet colors! People have been longing for Balloon, Jewel and Origami pets for the longest time, but TNT has yet to create such marvelous and wonderful colors. Some people that I spoke to declared that they leave free pet spaces on their side accounts, just in case these colors become a reality. We may never have such colors, but it doesn't hurt to hope, I guess!

One player made me smile. She declared that she'd do anything to be obscure again. Right now, people remember her username and peg her as someone who is difficult, mean and vindictive, and she'd love to start fresh and be known as someone kind, generous and giving instead. I thought this was a unique goal, and I had to sympathize with her, since she loves to hang out on the Help Neoboard and has no intention of abandoning it for a year just so that people forget who she is.

One player admitted that she used to have the goal of creating a new user lookup every week, so that other people could use her codes for their own accounts. However, real life prevented her from achieving this goal. The last time she made a lookup was in 2012, and she has no intention of renewing her efforts, but she still wishes she had the time to churn out creative and pretty user lookups for other people to use. It used to be her favorite pastime!

One person made me nod in agreement. He told me that he wants to rename his pet, but knowing that it'll be an expensive real-money option at the NC Mall, he'll never actually rename it. I commiserated with him! I have a badly named Faerie Pteri that I'm desperate to rename, but not if it'll cost me 5,000 NC. For now, I've simply nicknamed him "Peek," and I've gotten used to the moniker! (Someone even told me that his haphazard name, a jumble of letters and numbers, is kind of kooky and charming, and that's what I keep in mind now!)

There were a couple of players who declared that they love the idea of Premium, but will never shell out real life money for it. It's not that they avoid supporting the site, either. Rather, they are poor of funds and can't buy Premium when there are real life groceries and bills to be paid. Instead, they buy a Neocash Card once a year, and feel quite proud that they're contributing to the continuance of this wonderful website. I applauded their support, since they're the people who keep this site alive for people like me!

In conclusion…

The thing that struck me the most was that the players I spoke to were sweet, good-natured and kind! They weren't wallowing in jealousy over the successes of their fellow players. Instead of crying about the goals they'll never fulfill, they happily posted the usernames of their favorite players, and admitted that they aspired to be just like them. I thought this was quite cheerful and optimistic!

As a result of writing this article, I felt a renewed sense of hope! Even if our goals are out of reach, we players are always able to make new goals. Bad at games? Make a gallery instead! Not rich? Try adopting pets from the Neopian Pound! There are myriad ways of enjoying the site, and it's impossible to be depressed for long!

Thanks, everyone, for replying to me on the Neoboards! Talking to you is always the highlight of my day. Good luck with your future goals, and have a spectacular week!