Cool thread.
I joined PSOW when I was 16. I found out about PSO when I was at my friend's house and he had a bootleg copy of the Japanese version, before the game was released here. I was hooked, and then came the US version, and online gameplay along with it.

I still talk to and play with friends I've made along the way.
I was in high school back then. Since, I've been to university, dropped out and worked for a couple of years, and now I'm back in university for computer science, while working as an IT tech on the side.
I've matured quite a bit and my outlook on life has changed so much, I wouldn't know where to begin. Isn't it funny looking back, sometimes?