Corey Gets Personal
Schmamers, I’m going to be upfront with you. Just talking with you about what I’ve been playing wasn’t going to cut it this week. At the moment I’m not interested in that at all.
Let’s talk for a bit.
When we first started up this website each writer gave you a look into their personal experiences with gaming. I want to expand upon this a bit more.
It’s an interesting time for me personally.
Starting a new job.
Looking for a new apartment.
Even though I haven’t asked him, I’m trying to get vacation time to visit a friend who lives in a city that I’ve never been to.
What does any of this have to do with video games? Not much really. I get to enjoy playing them alone and with my friends. We work on this community together as a labor of love.
Love.
As a person who suffers through clinical depression, I don’t love too many things. In fact, I outright said that I have a love/hate relationship with video games.
Today I want to talk about the love and joy they’ve brought to my all too often joyless world.
They’re my constant companion in a lonely life.
I go out and I socialize for a couple hours every night. I want to get better. To be happier. The truth is that I don’t have many friends and most (almost all) don’t live near me.
So my free time is mostly filled with video games.
That’s the most basic love they give me. Games are around when nobody else is. I can rely on a marathon game of Civilization V to keep my mind from wandering to its darker recesses.
On some level, one could say that video games have kept me alive.
I thank them for that every time I fire up the PC or 360.
Thank you for being my buffer.
My escape.
Don’t worry. It’s hardly all doom and gloom for the entire article. But I couldn’t be true to myself or this topic without discussing the above.
I have plenty of happy things to thank them for as well.
Some of my fondest memories of childhood were playing video games.
I can still remember getting my first console.
NES with Super Mario Bros on Christmas morning.
It was glorious.
I played it all day.
And all day for many days after that.
I played every Jane’s I could get to run on my PC.
My friend Sean and I bonded over Wave Race for the N64.
My first all-nighter was playing Rampage World Tour at my cousin’s house.
The first thing I ever saved money for was a PS2.
I’ve learned some valuable life lessons.
Gaming continues to be good to me.
I’ve gained new friends through Gamers Schmamers.
I’ve gained new perspectives.
I’ve gotten some personal closure.
I’ve opened new doors.
And I’ve found a special connection.
All thanks to gaming.
