So that's it, folks: a week of playlists, All-Stars lobbies and varied meets, all tightly squashed together to celebrate a wonderful, diverse year of the Off-Road All-Stars existing within the GTA Online universe, bringing together members from all over the world and welcoming our allies within our festivities to truly share this awesome milestone with as many people as possible. And what a week it was.
I had decided a few weeks ago to throw something together, a whimsical decision with a call-out to my amazing Commissioners to help me set up such an event; it wasn't until a week before our anniversary that I actually made the choice to turn it into a full week of activity, spurred on by my impending forced sabbatical & motivated by the constant, unwavering enthusiasm of our unique little community. I forced myself to sit down and think back to the beginning, the excitement I experienced as our members rose from just myself to ten, fifteen, twenty, watching as people outside of the pre-existing friendship group showed an interest and made the choice to become an All-Star and don our sunny yellow crew colour and ideals. From the very start of it all we only had one aim, and a simple one at that: have a shit ton of fun whilst treating one another with the respect we'd want to be treated with ourselves.
Even now I'd say that's probably the only thing we ask of our members.
Even now I'd say that's probably the only thing we ask of our members.

This week has only strengthened my faith in this ideal and, as I've never been one to avoid embarrassing myself, I have to admit that it feels almost like I'm falling in love with the All-Stars all over again... because that's exactly how it takes hold. It's an instantaneous development, getting swept up in the adrenaline rush of meeting new people who you give you that rapid-fire click from the moment you enter a lobby with them; it's feeling simultaneously safe whilst at the same time getting those wild little leaps in your stomach every time someone makes you laugh, welcoming an addiction that has, as of last week, stood the test of time for twelve months and - I genuinely believe this - will continue to reign over many of us for a good long while yet. It's taking that risk of wanting it to be everything it promises to be on the surface and finding out that you were right to trust your instincts all along. There's something inexplicable and, dare I say it, magical about something so simple as a group of people hanging out in an online universe bringing so much happiness and purpose to something which, for most people, is just a way of letting off steam. It's something special, but at the same time it's gloriously understated.
All sentiment aside, this week truly was an absolute blast. Along with crew favourites such as 'Around the Map' & tackling Mount Chiliad in one of the toughest routes we've attempted (the rain certainly didn't help), we threw ourselves into chaos via bloodthirsty playlists & had the most chilled meet ever with the 'Bike & Hike'; variation was the spice of life for the All-Stars over the past seven days, and suffice it to say that whether we had 25 in a lobby or 10, this week was undoubtedly a HUGE success. We discovered the acidic reflux of Fizzy Yum-Yum, challenged the rules of social interaction with car-sex revelations, tested our stubborn determination with 6+ hrs of tackling the entire coastline of the map and, indisputably, come out of it with a lot more stories to tell and another cascade of experiences safely secured under our belts. It was, in short, one of the best weeks the All-Stars have ever had.
Thank you to everybody who attended our Festivities Week activities and for making it every bit as amazing as you guys. Here's to one year of awesomeness; let's bring on another!