Where does RL begin?

Now. Real Life begins now. Its strange to think that a person would have to make that distinction--but to someone so hopelessly engrossed in something that could be coined "not of this real life" it is a common uttering. Lets get right to the point: I'm addicted to video games.

Ever since i was a little kid i can remember playing games with my dad. My earliest memory is him bringing home the original Nintendo and spending hours with him in the imaginary world of Zelda, or Mario Brothers. This led way to Sonic via the Genesis system, and then Super Nintendo followed with even more amazing graphics and gameplay. The list goes on--Sega CD, 32x, Playstation, Nintendo 64, and Playstation 2. In each phase of my life, playing games was a reward for work whether it be school or any other responsibility i had with church. The one redeeming value of video games found on "consoles" like Playstation, are that they usually have a definite end. You can beat them and feel accomplished.

Unfortunately not all games are like this. In high school i became more involved in playing PC games, because they offered me a chance to play against more than just 2-4 players--you could have anywhere from 15 or more players all playing together. In time i was introduced to a game called Everquest. The concept was intriguing: A multiplayer Role-playing game in which there was no end. In addition this game required a monthly fee to continue play. What a brilliant idea--for once there was a game that evolved over time. It had no end. There was always another expansion to expand the game world and gameplay. I played pretty religiously for 10th and 11th grade and had to finally call it quits due to it taking up way too much of my time.
In the absence of EQ i replaced my game time with other games like Counterstike, and Starcraft. I told myself, "these games can be played for a half hour or an hour to success, unlike EQ that required hours to get setup in a position to make the time worthwhile. I was still playing way too much, but i told myself that it was alright--cause at least i wasn't EQ.

saw an absence of playing any game at all for over 2 years, as i served as a missionary in Ohio for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon). Playing games, let alone watching Television were strictly against the rules. I came to a certain realization that we were so successful out there because we had fewer distractions and more time applied to our focuses than at home. I remember vividly promising myself that when i returned from my mission that i would not let that aspect of my life, gaming, take over ever again.

When i returned home It wasn't as easy to keep to my promise as I had planned. My dad had always been an avid gamer himself and to reward me for my time out in the field he loaded up our family computer with the best of the best games from my missing 2 years. Half-life 2, Counterstrike Source, and Farcry were just a few that i remembered. I got into an online game called Runescape--similar to EQ but free of charge to play and on a much simpler level. Before long i was back into mainstream online gaming. In fact i remember taking a really light load the first semester back at college because i wanted to afford more time to catch up on all the movies and games i had missed for 2 years.

One of my friends John Michaelson, who played EQ back in high school with me, approached me with a new game that had been out for a while. The game was called World of Warcraft. It was based off of the famous real-time strategy series from blizzard--yet applied to the same genre of games as EQ. This new age Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMO) was incredible. The learning curve wasn't very steep and everything that i didn't like about EQ was fixed. It was the kind of game that my missionary self would beg and plead with my gaming self not to get involved in. But i didn't listen.

Fast forward 20 months from that date and i look back at the sheer amount of time that i have invested in that game and it astonishes me. It has been an integral part of who I have been for the last almost 2 years. I thought about going into the details of it--the ridiculous social structure and guild system--but its not why i am starting this blog. I am here to tell the world that i desire to break free of these bonds that have held me for so long. As of tonight i have given anything of value in the game to my friend John (the same one who got me into it) and have uninstalled the game. In addition, looking back to my previous experiences with replacing WoW with other games, i have uninstalled every game on my computer.

This is It. Real Life begins now. It is time to grow up and put away childish things. I pray i have the strength to do this seemingly impossible task.