Judging You

I need to talk with you about something that has been bugging me, bloggers. You wouldn't judge me if I told you something about me, something that many people would find to be embarrassing, right? We're all friends here. Here it goes...

I am obsessed with video games. And I don't mean frilly little girl games like Barbie's Horse Adventures or something silly like that. I also don't mean games like Call of Duty or Halo. I mean like MMORPGs (for those of you that don't know, that's massively multiplayer online roleplaying games) and even just roleplaying games. Lots of people might find this to be nerdy, and I used to agree with you, until I took a World of Warcraft to the face (Skyrim reference).

It all started when I was eight or nine and I went to my best friend's house one Friday or Saturday evening. Her parents played a game called World of Warcraft, or WoW to players of the game, which they were playing that night. Then, something unexpected happened: I was invited to play the game. As an eight (nine?) year old, this new development made me feel important, special. I was finally allowed to do something that grown-ups did. It soon became more than that, though.

After I bought the game, it quickly became a sort of haven for me, a place I could go where very few problems of the real world touched me. Then, I was introduced to more of the internet and more opportunities to play these games found me on their own. I discovered games like Dragon Age and Star Wars: The Old Republic (my most recent splurge).

Let's get one thing straight: I don't roleplay or LARP (live action roleplay), although LARPing sounds kind of fun because you can LARP anything. I merely play the games. When I am in-game, though, I am not Maddy Megonigle the awkward junior that takes all the AP classes and can't get a date (not that I'd have time with all the AP classes...). I become someone else. I could be Hawke, the Champion of Kirkwall, slayer of the Arishok, or I could Fantaya, a Jedi knight that stands for all that is good in the world and stands up for the meek and helpless, or I could even be Warden Solana Amell, a hero mage that slayed an Archdemon in a world that hates and fears mages.

Everybody needs an escape from reality once in a while. Mine just happens to be video games. Although many people consider this to be a nerdy waste of time, I love it. It's something I'm passionate about and something I do just about every night.

Thanks for listening to me talk about this. You guys are good friends.