I first undocked in Todaki in my trusty POS Ibis. I knew nothing of Eve, not one single thing. I hadn't read about Eve, barely even knew what a MMORG was (beyond some minor knowledge of World of Warcraft) and certainly didn't know wtf I was doing. I was playing Eve for two very simple reasons:
1) It worked on my Mac
2) You could fly spaceships
So I undocked. And sat there in space wondering what to do next. So I docked. There were a lot of spaceships out there! And they were all different colors!!
Deep breath. It is hard to remember now just how intimidating those very early days were. The channels, the tutorials, the overwhelming sense of space, crowds, insanity and massive universe... well, at least the massive system of Todaki. It would be awhile before I managed to muster the courage needed to jump into another whole system!! Heck, for a day or so I wasn't even sure how to get to another system.
One step at a time. I started the tutorial, although I didn't stick with it long, it did help. I also watched the new player channel, you can pick up a lot just by watching that thing. Turns out a lot of it was wrong, misplaced or slightly in error, but I quickly learned my way around those hurdles. Trial and error. Huge independent streak.
I remember sitting in a belt hammering away at a rock with my single pitiful mining laser when two HUGE ships entered the belt. I don't remember what they were, or who they were, but I do remember they were a husband and wife team. By this time I had learned how to say hello in local. We had a fifteen minute conversation that illuminated a lot of Eve for me. Carebear Eve sadly, but at least it was a start.
I also had a RL friend that had started playing about two weeks before me. He kept trying to get me to join this Corporation he had found. I resisted for about two weeks. The idea of a Corporation sounded evil to me, full of politics, pressures and obligations I didn't need. (Oh, I was so right back then!) I'd do this Eve thing on my own gosh darn it.
No, I wouldn't. My opinion changed when Aura told me to go to the next system and pick something up for her. I figured she must know someone more capable... but she insisted. So I warped my first warp to a Gate and sat there. Panic stricken. The couple in the belt had told me the secret to Eve, a secret I share even today - right click everything! So I right clicked the Gate and jumped thru. Would I be able to get back? I didn't know.
That was my first two weeks in Eve. I joined that Corporation just as they were moving to the rich mining ground of Providence. And the rest, as they say, is history.
I knew a few things after those first two weeks. I knew I didn't want to be shooting rocks any longer than I had to. I found out you could buy ships instead of having to build them yourself, I still have Frigate Construction trained to level 2 because of that. Thanks random person in the Help channel!! ( May you suffer a thousand deaths ) And I knew this Eve thing was one of the most amazing things I had ever participated in.
I had no idea where it would take me next.