My Family History

Our communication was not about facts and figures - ours was about the meeting of minds and kind hearts. It was about celebrating life in the places where we met. Usually, such places were in music rooms in Paltalk - a chat service that enables users to communicate via video, internet chat and voice. We sang songs, played songs, spoke on the mic, and most of all decorated the screen of whichever room we were in.

So many people in such rooms choose to be inactive or prefer not to put nice, happy images on the screen. Mrs Panda and I chose to decorate the screens, whilst still type-chatting as we went along. Our philosophy was simple - if one enters a room - celebrate being there. Appreciate a singer's song by adding emoticons from the vast array which Paltalk provides. Even if type-chatting, don't be afraid to put them into the conversation. Do we not smile and show expressions as we talk in 'real life'?

The emoticons, on the left, epitomise the joy and positivity which Mrs D J Panda brought into any room she entered. She was simply infectious but at the same time, she engaged people in conversation, both from the mic and in type-talk on screen. I had been expressing myself in a similar way since November 2013, when I entered this amazing world of rooms and 160,000 people from every country imaginable.

Mostly, I found myself the odd-one-out except for the music rooms in Vietnam. There, people really do celebrate their time on Paltalk with stickers and emoticons. Then, in February 2016, I met Mrs DJ Panda, in a Chinese Music room, and suddenly, there was a kindred spirit prepared to express her joy of life.  Wow!!