Gaming and Me.

[Panda]

A paper I wrote for school, and we got to pick our topic

I was chatting with a friend on facebook earlier and she randomly asked me 'Has anything ever changed your life?' and I started thinking. I'd never thought about it before, but gaming actually made an impact on me. I spend almost all of my free time playing xbox with friends and buddies I've met online, and it's actually pretty fun.

Now, pretty much no one on here knows about my outside life and what's going on. Well, I'd like to take the chance to let you guys know.

About 3 years ago my mom weighed over 300 lbs, and she had a gastric bypass. It went well for a while until she got 2 ulcers on her stomach (2 holes on her stomach) and she was admitted into the hospital. It was repaired, but 1 week after, another ulcer had appeared. She was the admitted AGAIN and everything went fine. During the time she was in the hospital I spent most of my time Home alone playing xbox offline (didn't have internet yet) and fell in love. I know it's silly, but when I was playing it took me into a different world. It took my mind off of things and it felt like i was just alone.

2 years passed, and my mom was in and out of the hospital multiple times and after she got out she actually had her hand shut into an automatic van door, which then put 2 blood clots into the 2 main veins that supplied blood to her hand. She was told they had to take her entire hand off, but the doctor actually saved it and they only had to cut off 1 finger, although the hand still isn't completely normal and she can still barely move it. A year passed and we moved a couple times which brings us to the present date.

Recently, my mom is still in and out of the hospital. She is in the hospital at least twice a month now, and I spend a majority of my time home alone now. Alot of the time, I'll feel bad and start to get depressed about my mom and wonder 'is this her final trip to the hospital?' and get all caught up in my problems in life. That's where gaming comes in.

Gaming made a huge impact on my life. It takes me to my own world, and its something that I believe I am fairly decent at within my group of friends. It actually takes the thoughts of my mom off of my mind, and I don't have to worry about anything. Some people may turn to books or even music.

The biggest game is Halo. I first picked up Halo in 3rd grade with my best friend John Barden. At the time, I wasn't aware what Halo was, since I was like.... 7. Now a days, it's about all I play. When I play online it takes me to a different state of mind. It takes me away from the world for that hour that I play. It also gives me the chance to make friends, that I could never actually meet around the world. I've meet a great bundle of people from a website called 'The Lan Network'. They also share the same love I have for Halo and other competitive games.

Alot of things can happen during ones life, and some are good and some are bad. It's surprising that the littlest things actually get us by every day.

I'm not the best writer, haha.

Anyways, I just thought I would share that with the community :D

Now, my question to you guys.
Has anything ever changed your life?

[Shelly]

Gaming has actually had a huge impact on my life. I've been struggling with depression/insomnia for over a year now, and after I went to my first event in Columbus 2010, it was the happiest I've been in a long time. Gaming is really the only thing that I'm passionate about nowadays, and although it sometimes takes away from things I should pay more attention to (my boyfriend), it makes me happy, and that's something I feel I really need to hold onto.

[itwuzmagik]

great read man i am very sorry about your mother :( man if you ever need someone to game with just send me an inv. i'd be glad to play

[Monk3y]

Very good read, and I as well am sorry to hear about your mother. I don't know how I would act if it was my dad going through all of that so just know how strong of a person you are to hold in there. Gaming is certainly a great escape from reality.

The thing that would had to have changed my life would probably be the internet in general. All through elementary school and beginning of highschool I was considered one of the "popular" kids I guess you could say. Had no problem getting the girls, was friends with all the other "popular" kids and so on. Right around the age of 11 I started getting in PSP's which lead me to start going on forums and such. Well the forum I went to got me thinking how cool it would be to run my own little gaming forum for my friends and to even meet new people. Well I started my own forum around the age of 12 I think. I met these 2 guys on the internet that helped me with my forum. I have been friend with these 2 guys for 5 years now. I don't talk to them as much as I used to but I can considered them to be some of my best friends even if I've never met them in person. Now the reason I mentioned about being one of the "popular" kids is now I'm considered to be a nerd/gamer. Personally, I'm ok with that. My life is 10x more happy with being that nerdy gamer kid then it was when I was trying to be something I wasn't. Well that's about all I have to say about that. I, along with Panda, am a pretty poor writer so don't hate :P

[Kamikazeewoks]

Thank you for sharing this! Sorry about your mom :(. I know kinda what your going through because i was 13 when my mom was diagnosed with cancer, and i would always lay in bed wondering the possibilities of what could happen to her. But playing games kept that off my mind. Now my mom is Cancer-Free and life couldn't be better! If you ever want to play sometime send me a message on GT: TLN Whaaaaaaaaa. Thank you for sharing! :)

[Kwame]

nice job my dude...unfortunately I can relate to your situation. I lost my father in may and I turned to gaming as an escape or for time to just get my mind off things. It def. helps and can be a nice distraction. I would just implore you to spend as much time with your mom as possible. I wish I had more time with my dad everyday, even if that means going to the hospital with her and just being by her side. I promise you, you wont regret it.

[Kamikazeewoks]

nice job my dude...unfortunately I can relate to your situation. I lost my father in may and I turned to gaming as an escape or for time to just get my mind off things. It def. helps and can be a nice distraction. I would just implore you to spend as much time with your mom as possible. I wish I had more time with my dad everyday, even if that means going to the hospital with her and just being by her side. I promise you, you wont regret it.
I am sorry about Dad :(

[itwuzmagik]

nice job my dude...unfortunately I can relate to your situation. I lost my father in may and I turned to gaming as an escape or for time to just get my mind off things. It def. helps and can be a nice distraction. I would just implore you to spend as much time with your mom as possible. I wish I had more time with my dad everyday, even if that means going to the hospital with her and just being by her side. I promise you, you wont regret it.

wow kwame sorry about your loss man.
Also shelly i think you balance your life well.
The thing with me is, that I let gaming take over my life for a brief period of time and went from an A student to a D student. :( Now however, I have fixed that issue and have found a decently healthy balance.

[Smallz08]

Wow I enjoyed reading that and I hope your mom gets better. I am going to be praying for you and your mom.

The biggest thing that changed my life is actually Jesus. I know that sounds cheesy but seriously he has literally changed the very essence of who I am. I can see a difference everyday and actually try to better myself daily. I have seen a huge transformation from this selfish guy that happened to put on a friendly face to where I am now which I feel like I am a genuine person who loves to help others when I can and happens to enjoy being competitive with video games instead of them being a waste of time. He has given me the strength to do that I know that when everything is falling in and I feel pressured and I don't want to talk to the people around me I talk to him and he listens to me and he cares about my problems but not only that but he has done so much for me that I take for granted every single day with out me even thinking about it. Sometimes I look at myself and I can't believe that I have done what I did. My biggest problem is kicking myself when I am down and won't really let anyone encourage me. I just shut them out. Which is horrible when you have a girlfriend that cares more about you than anyone else.

[Panda]

Wow I enjoyed reading that and I hope your mom gets better. I am going to be praying for you and your mom.

The biggest thing that changed my life is actually Jesus. I know that sounds cheesy but seriously he has literally changed the very essence of who I am. I can see a difference everyday and actually try to better myself daily. I have seen a huge transformation from this selfish guy that happened to put on a friendly face to where I am now which I feel like I am a genuine person who loves to help others when I can and happens to enjoy being competitive with video games instead of them being a waste of time. He has given me the strength to do that I know that when everything is falling in and I feel pressured and I don't want to talk to the people around me I talk to him and he listens to me and he cares about my problems but not only that but he has done so much for me that I take for granted every single day with out me even thinking about it. Sometimes I look at myself and I can't believe that I have done what I did. My biggest problem is kicking myself when I am down and won't really let anyone encourage me. I just shut them out. Which is horrible when you have a girlfriend that cares more about you than anyone else.

Not cheesy one bit.
I was actually an Atheist for a while, then I met a guy online while playing Halo 3 Matchmaking. He told me all about Jesus and how he has helped him in his life, and given him hope for him to get back on the right path. He was actually a drug dealer that got into some trouble and turned to Jesus for guidance. I can now say that I am a Christian.

[Smallz08]

Ya man it is crazy how God uses different situations in our lives to show us something great or to teach us a lesson we will never forget about how life works.

[Kamikazeewoks]

Ya man it is crazy how God uses different situations in our lives to show us something great or to teach us a lesson we will never forget about how life works.

Amen to that!

[smasherjosh]

Amen! I don't know what I'd do without Him...

[chris_cr33p]

great read i loved it send me an inv sometime my gt is in my sig. but the same thing happens to me when i play. i get taken to a whole new world somewhere when its just me and the game. i love it. i also feel that way when i play sports. i step on that field and that is the only thing on my mind. fr me sometime im happy to game with anyone and everyone in the TLN community!

[LoneW0lf]

yo smallz not cheezy man it might seem like it but it's not and like panda said i was an Atheist myself once i didnt care bout anyone other than myself, i thought god was a joke and the nine yards man but something or someone told me to go to church and i did. i started listening and learning man i was so naive dude i thank god everyday for giving me the chance to live one more day and all the things he does for me without my realization, now i talk to ppl who seem lost try to help them out and tell'em bout jesus and god... been a proud Christian since i was 12 (currently 19) and like i always say things might seem dark at time but that's god teaching how to appreciate the good things he'll put in front of you

[Smallz08]

Man I am so excited to see so many people with different story's. This is so encouraging to me. When I first found this site I thought to myself "am I the only Christian guy on here?" boy was I wrong. I love hearing people's testimonies about how they found God. I am so glad that I found this community... I know it is said a lot on the forums but I am truly glad that I did and I see God working in my life through this and others lives as well.

[LoneW0lf]

amen! to that man

[Kamikazeewoks]

Man I am so excited to see so many people with different story's. This is so encouraging to me. When I first found this site I thought to myself "am I the only Christian guy on here?" boy was I wrong. I love hearing people's testimonies about how they found God. I am so glad that I found this community... I know it is said a lot on the forums but I am truly glad that I did and I see God working in my life through this and others lives as well.
God works in Mysterious ways, but his work's are great!

[KRILLIN]

My wife has asked me on more than one occasion if I think I will ever grow out of video games. NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!