I started playing with some friends during the beta test. We were all gnomes so we would have the same starting city. I played a rogue. If I recall correctly, the others were magician and cleric.
I played EQ when it went live, and played until Gates of Discord. Since then I seem to have a cycle of playing for 1-2 years before taking 1-2 years off. EverQuest is the game I always end up returning to, though.
When I have been away from EQ for a while, it usually starts with feeling nostalgic for a certain raid or quest that used to be too hard for me to do. Then I get on an overleveled character and go destroy it. Then I realize I don’t really know how to play very well anymore, so I start a level one and start working my way up through the levels to remember how to play. Then when I get high enough level to start grouping with other people, I get hooked.