Finding Friendship
An Exploration on my Foreign Affairs Journey
Written by Darkslayer
During my one year in this region, my view on so much has changed so quickly. The political environment quickly integrated into my personality as I learned what was expected and how we as a region functioned. Actually, how NationStates (NS) functioned. When I thought of ‘political roleplay’ in NS, although somewhat related, it was so much more different to how I think of ‘political roleplay’ now. In ‘political roleplay’ foreign affairs (FA) is a crucial part, and is arguably, the most important aspect in ‘political roleplay’. Yet, in my starting career in Europeia and in NS I never saw FA as particularly important or relevant to me. So, it came as no surprise when I first started in this region, that I was very isolated in terms of FA. I didn’t necessarily see it as an area which interested me. However, during my time as radio minister that view slowly changed—seeing the relationships of some of our foreign guests, such as with Pichtonia and Serge where they have made numerous radio appearances together like when they discussed TEP affairs together, changed my view--seeing them talk about things really opened my eyes to the power of friendships in FA. Some of these close relationships changed my perspective on the benefit for what FA could deliver not only to the region in an NS perspective, but indeed, to a healthy relationship between friends.
My first interaction of developing my insight into FA was my first ambassador post to Thaecia. It was helpful that I recognised Andy, who is the founder of Thaecia and whom I recognised from his appearance and discussions in Eurochat, and had heard some names—but that was all I had to work with. When I first joined the discord, I have to admit, I was nervous. Meeting a region full of new faces was a nerve-wracking thing for me—what if they were too serious for me, or hated my personality? What if they shared views I couldn’t tolerate, or did stuff I didn’t agree with? Regardless, these presumptions led to my strong belief of opposition to engaging in our FA perspective for some time until my ambassadorship there. During my tenure there of almost 8 months, I have made and solidified friendships with so many people, something I did not expect whatsoever.
You see, when I first joined the region as an ambassador, I thought I would just post the updates I would need to, and then leave it at that. However, as time progressed, I started joining conversations in public; and then building and developing friendships with individuals in the region. The version of me in May 2020 me did not predict that me in March 2021 me would be so close and connected with so many friends, people whom I know I can trust information with and share moments with. To some, the idea of building such a friendship is odd—after all this is a political game: we need to differentiate between the working environment and a friendship environment. To me, both of them are closely linked--in order to have a strong working environment you need a strong friendship environment. Likewise, if you have a good friendship environment then prepare for a strong working environment. I know that, as a fact, any issue I or any of the friends I have, in Thaecia we could share our issues and deal with them together. That is a sign of a true friendship: two individuals dedicating time and resources to help the other.
As time progressed, my view on FA started to change. I saw it as an opportunity to improve our Europeian working capability abroad by building friendships with others around us. Sometimes we forget we are in a game and not everything we do and say has to be 100% politically In-Character. After all, we are all individuals dedicating our time and resources to play this game; but most importantly, it is comforting after playing this game, to have made friendships and met new people. That is one thing I have loved about my experience in this game: the friendships I have made. My work in foreign affairs especially as radio minister has greatly benefited from the relationships which have developed as a result of meeting those from other regions.
A notable face arises in The East Pacific's Delegate, Zukchiva (Zuk), arguably one of the closest friends I had developed in such a short time. Even though our friendship only stems for slightly longer than three months, such a short period has felt like an eternity—I can trust him with anything, and he has been there when I needed someone most. The friendship that has grown between us, I would safely say, increased my commitment and enthusiasm to work harder and to improve my ability and capability not only in the domestic side of government, such as the Ministry of Radio, but also, my energy to invest more time into exploring FA. He knew when to push me when I needed it, and he knew I supported him when he needed it. We connected so well, and my commitment to NS as a whole improved through the friendship I developed with Zuk. I can safely say, that for him, some of my bad days turned into good days—and days when I needed a kick to get something done, he knew how to give me that slight boost.
Ultimately this leads me to the main point of this article: an overlooked, yet significant aspect of NS is the friendships we build. Friendships in FA are a powerful element and can easily lead to improving relations between individuals and regions, but also increasing motivation, commitment, and enthusiasm working within Europeia. My knowledge in FA, and my enthusiasm to expand that knowledge, came from the friendships I developed from socialising and working in other regions; just like with domestic affairs, thanks to the friendships I developed here—helping me improve my dedication and commitment to work in the domestic area. Building and enhancing friendships is a safe way to increase your work-passion and is an area that should not be forgotten but embraced as a vital ingredient, not only to FA but also to NS as a whole.
