The musings of a newbie

[Annemari]

How long has it been since you first discovered LotR? Do you still remember the day?

For me, it's been exactly 5 months and 3 days. Feels like eternity though. In so short a time, I've experienced so much: discovered a whole new world, lived in it, met wonderful people... I've also learned a lot about myself and found more of who I really am. I never expected that would happen but it did and it's been such a rewarding experience. I wouldn't change it for the world.

I used to laugh at the "Ringers" who spent their day outside the movie theatre queuing for tickets. I thought they had a screw loose and needed to be locked up in a padded cell. But now I understand... I've seen the light and it's not the sun. I found my light in the darkness of Mordor.

Ah, the joy and sorrow of being a newbie. I'm still mentally kicking myself for being stupid (ie. being so anti-LotR). I never got to see these wonderful movies in the theater. For that I'll be eternally sorry. I'm sure the movies would have looked great and sounded awesome. Nazgul shrieking, horses galloping across the battle-scarred plains.... I bet the words "Shirrreeeeeee bagggiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnns" would have sent cold chills down my spine.

God, how I wish I'd been there to see it. It would've been a blast of a lifetime. For watching the movies on DVD was an experience I'll never forget. I watched all the movies back-to-back and the trilogy just blew me off my seat. RotK left me feeling sad, bittersweet, yet strangely optimistic. I've never felt quite like that before. The movies had been a total rollercoaster of emotions and all the characters (including the Hobbits, whom I didn't like very much when I first saw them... *cough*) had become dear to me. By the time the end credits rolled I knew I was gone. Behold, a Ringer is born. ;D

[dommi]

That was a beautiful story! ;D
i don't remember the day that i found LotR. I grew up on the old cartoon movies of the Hobbit and LotR. (I know they are bad but that is what they had! And so I loved them) I first read the Hobbit in like 1st grade but couldn't make it through the trilogy.
I remember I was in 5th grade when I found out they were making the movies! I was so excited. My old 2nd grade teacher showed me a trailer or something on the net cus he remembered I had loved the Hobbit and the movies. I stood in line 3 hrs for tickets to the 1st movie with my mom (Ringer of course!) I got the books for X-Mas later that month and read them right away and LOVED them! I have now read the HObbit I dont know how many times and the Trilogy 3 1/2 times, and seen all the movies too many times to count.

[Taurquende]

I know how you feel, only for me it wasn't quite as bad. I at least saw RotK in theaters, and I got to wait through the torturing of the EE coming out. I really wish I had gotten into it earlier!!

[Ktstar]

Annemari, your story's a lot like mine!

I never really thought much about LotR...I mean, I knew it was huge, and I knew about the movies, and I knew about the books...but they never really seemed something I would like. Keep in mind that I usually don't like things tons of other people like.

Then my younger brother began asking if he could watch the movies. People in his class had seen it, and he wanted to. Soon after, my dad asked for the boxed set for Christmas. My mom gave it to him, so of course my brother immediately wanted to watch. I figured that I might as well watch too, after hearing so much about them. It didn't take very long before I was hooked.

After I saw all the movies, I decided to go through the books. This was during winter holidays, so the very first day back to school, I checked FotR out of the library.

And so, after tons of movie viewings, 6 Appendices, countless downloaded pictures, one poster, three soundtracks, two pointy ears, a bunch of annoyed people (from me talking about it all the time), plenty of thoughts and dreams, and almost three whole months (January-March) of reading nothing but Tolkien, I am a Ringer. ;D

[Cuilwen]

I still remember the day that I saw FotR for the first time. But that's not so difficult: it was december last year, near Christmas. It was on tv, and I liked it from the first moment.
In the summer of that year I'd read the Hobbit and I liked it, but I've always thougt that I was too young for LotR.

But now I can't talk about anything but Lord of the Rings! The books, the movies, it's still like a dream! But I agree with Annemari, it's a pitty that we as newbies will never see the movies in theatre...

Cuilwen

[Alessae]

Well, I think I got luckier than most, because I got to see all 3 films at the cinema.

I was only 11 when FotR came out, and then 12 and 13 when the others came out, but me and my family went as a big group to see them all, at the PrintWorks in Manchester.
Me, all 4 of my brothers, and some assorted uncles, aunties and girlfriends, and so on. It was absolutely brilliant.
I guess me being so young didn't really appreciate how good the films were, and the only one I can remember seeing at the cinema is RotK, where I was sat next to my American uncles wife, who said to me when it was over "I wish they would hurry up and have got on the boat sooner, I was desperate for the toilet! "

Vivid memories, eh? Anyway, last year my brother got the DVDs for Christmas, and I watched them again in my newfound wisdom, and they ble me away all over again.

My story of a ringer

[*~Lomundra greenleaf~*]

I never got tosee any of them in the Cinema(sp?) Either. ( )
How I got hooked was.
Once my mum was flicking three channels. One of them was fotr, of course me, as soon a I caught eye of it I just began to watch it, so my mum left it there and I couldn't take my eyes off it! So then a few days later my mum bought me rotK and TTT( ). So After I watched those I was pretty much hooked! Then my mum found fotr in the movie store I was like pwease buy it? So she bought it. I also came arcoss A-U. And when my birthday came my mum bought me a sliver version on the one ring, and TTT sound track, and a Legolas poster! Yup...!

[Eliwen]

I've been a Ringer for about four years now...But I didn't get to see any of the movies at the theatres either... the theatre closest to us closed down and the rest were to far away and as no one was as obsessed as I am no one was willing to take me there.

[mErRy!]

I remember one day my dad brought home the EE's of FOTR and TTT, and I sat down and watched both in one sitting, and I completely fell in love with them instantly.

[dommi]

Wow I feel like I have been a ringer a long time now that I have hear dyour guys's stories....I suddenly feel about 40. I'm only 15....LOL

[Nienor]

I'm like a lot of you, a relatively new Ringer.
My mom read FotR when she was 13, and my dad read the books when he was about the same age. They became Ringers early, before it was really popular, and all my life they have tried to get me to read the books. They read The Hobbit out loud when Rad and I were little, and we listened to the BBC book on tape for LotR, but I could never get into it. I was, to be honest, very afraid I would like it better than the Redwall books. Finally, since Rad and my mom and dad had seen the first two movies and I refused to watch any of them without reading the books, I gave in. I was tired of having to leave the room every time they turned it on (which was fairly often!) I started reading FotR, and fell in love. As I recall, I spent one Sunday afternoon reading for five hours straight. Then I went to see RotK in the theater...since then, I've been a hardcore Ringer.

[dommi]

Oh I remember the Redwall books! I really liked them in 4th, 5th, 6th grade. I can't beleive I had forgotten about those! ...sry way off topic.

[Tamuril]

it was about 4 years ago - i'd already heard about the books and went to see fotr and thought it was rubbish - only cause i didn't know anything about it - then i went to see ttt with my mate paris and loved it - then again with my mate jess and then again with my mate zoe - then i went off it - then i heard about rotk looked at the trailer and thought it looked amazing - saw that once on i think it was new years eve - some where around then - and then last year around october i got into it for the second time - then i found this amazing forum - then i started to go off it again - the about a month ago i got into it again!!!!!!!!!yay!!!!!!!!!!! lol - thats my lotr story lol

[ErulissëEnethNîn]

I started getting really obsessed after I saw The Two Towers in theaters. (I have seen all three movies in theater). I read the books during my teen years but there was really nothing more to it than that. I am now reading the books all over again and they just keep getting better and you discover new things all the time!

I feel so at home with all the elves, trolls, dwarfs, dragons and creatures that are Middle-Earth. I guess because Tolkien borrowed so much from my own mythology (the Norse mythology) which I grew up with and can identify with so much.

[~*Lady Rinruthiel*~]

I'm with dommi!! Ya'll make me feel older then I am! LOL

When FOTR came out my sister and dad were doing a daddy/daughter movie date thing so there was really nothing at the theatres and my dad had read the books as a kid and he said "Oh let's go see that!" so my sister agreed and came home telling us all about it!! The next weekend my family went to see it together. I freaked out! It was awesome! They bought they DVD as soon as it came out and I swear to you...The Flight to the Ford scene was on replay constantly, Arwen and Aragorn were my favs from the start!! LOL
I had just got my first computer that summer so I searched LOTR on the internet and A-U was the first site listed on Google! I entered and have fell in love with this site ever since!

That part was a little blurry I can barely remember it but that's as much as I can.

After seeing TTT in the theatres dreams, friends on A-U and favorite LOTR sites, and TONS of merchandise began to accumulate to my posession.

I've been obsessed since the first movies came out when I was 11 and now 3 years later I'm 15 and still obsessed, still go strong, and forever Ringer born and Ringer bred!!!

I've read the Trilogy and the Hobbit before the movies came out and I saw all movies in theatres and I'm priviledged to say that I still hold in my posession my TTT ticket stub to the first showing on the first day of the Two Towers! ;D

~My Ringer Story