Club Penguin: a virtual world in which players were, well, penguins. There really is no other way to describe it, but if you had an account, you knew how great it actually was. You'd wake up, play Club Penguin, go to school, play Club Penguin, wake up the next day, and do it all over again. It was more than a game, it was a lifestyle, and it taught us all some seriously valuable life lessons.

1. Never give up

As an avid Club Penguin fan in my younger days, I distinctly remember being constantly challenged. From attempting to find Rockhopper (a friendly pirate penguin who made rare visits to the world of Club Penguin) to working tirelessly to tip the iceberg alongside 50 other waddling penguins, this interactive world certainly taught us all to never give up on the things we want.

2. You can do anything you set your mind to

Always dreamed of being an actress? Pizza maker? Professional DJ? Band Member? On Club Penguin, you were able to do it all. The interactive world allowed you to be almost anything, and with sufficient practice, you could even be pretty good at it. In life, we are so often told that there are things we can't do and goals we can't reach. Club Penguin served as an escape for us all, allowing us to be anything and do anything we wanted, without anyone telling us otherwise (well to a certain degree... thanks moderators).

3. It's okay to be different

In life, it isn't out of the ordinary to be pressured to look, feel, and act in ways similar those around us. With the ability to be who you want, and do what you want (again, to a certain degree) Club Penguin taught us all that it's more than okay to be different. With so many endless possibilities in this virtual world, children were always encouraged to be who they wanted to be. Whether your penguin was green or yellow, black or blue, wore a construction vest or even wore a cheerleading uniform, being one's true unique self was always promoted in the world of CP.

4. Hard work pays off

As I stated earlier, I was a big fan of this website as a child. Sure, you could have a good time in the world of Club Penguin without being a paying member, but to me, being a paid member brought along the benefits I enjoyed so much about this site. As a paid member, I was able to purchase clothing for my penguin, decorate my "igloo", and even own up to 75 puffles (Club Penguin's version of dogs). Now I can't say I ever thought of owning and caring for that many pets, but I can say I enjoyed the dressing up of my penguin and the interior decorating of my little virtual home. But in order to afford the lavish lifestyle I so much enjoyed on there, I had to work hard for my money. This is where the lesson comes in. Whether I chose to be a pizza maker, barista, or professional sledder, I would log on to my account each day to somehow make my living. In the same way that the real world forces us to work hard in order to obtain the things we want, the same went for Club Penguin. Although, the job didn't always go as smooth as one might think for a virtual world...

5. Giving back goes a long way

Coins For Change was Club Penguin's annual charity event. Every year around the holiday time, the virtual world would announce the commencement of the big event. Coins For Change allowed penguins to donate their personal coins and once the desired amount of coins were raised, Club Penguin would donate the real money to projects. The money raised by Coins For Change would go to organizations that funded children's hospitals, helped provide toys for children in need, built playgrounds around the world, and even saved endangered animals. Donation stations, similar to the Salvation Army ones we've all seen outside of Walmart, were placed all around the virtual world. In a way also similar to Salvation Army's methods, individuals could even obtain a bell to ring next to the station, attracting further attention and encouragement for other penguins to donate. There were incentives to those who chose to give, however, the bigger picture was the very evident lesson of giving back. The fact that so many ten-year-olds would willingly donate their hard-earned coins, rather than spend them on themselves, was something truly remarkable.

6. Budgeting is crucial

As we have grown up, we have come to the realization that most of us cannot have everything we may want. However, we can acquire the things that are most valuable to us by budgeting what we do have. Even in the world of Club Penguin, funds are not unlimited. This taught us all from a young age that we must spend our earnings we worked so hard to obtain on the things that matter to us most. For my nine-year-old self, that was certainly the flickering dance floor that I purchased for the middle of my igloo (because clearly, that was very necessary for my penguin's well being), as well as clothing, lots and lots of clothing.

7. Responsibility is real

As a paid member of Club Penguin, I was given the ability to own over seventy puffles. Although I never owned (or had the money to have) that many, I did at one point own at least ten of them. After that, I'm pretty sure I never owned more than three. This was because I quickly learned the concept of responsibility. To have to feed, "walk", and care for so many at once was more than a little task each and every day. They may have been virtual, but these little creatures demanded love, affection, and care, just as a pet in real life would. This website taught us all the importance of having our priorities straight and, consequently, the real concept of responsibility .

Overall...

Club Penguin was a big part of my childhood, and probably yours as well. Even though at the time we thought it was all fun and games, it taught us all countless lessons that we can still apply to our lives today. It's sad to see it go, but all good things must come to an end.

Keep calm and waddle on, friends.