Video Games I Choose You!

The sun smiles down its pearly white rays onto my baseball hat, shrouding my face in darkness. I must look mysterious right now but I don’t care. Soon everyone will recognise me. I will be the very best. Like no one ever was. This is the start of my own journey, I am about to become a man. Nothing can bring me down.

“Remember to change your underwear every day!” my mom shouts after me.

“Great…thanks mom”, I reply, deflated. 

Looking forward on the horizon I can see the buildings of the next town poking out above the trees. Everything is green, the most vivid green I have ever seen. The sweet aroma of wildflowers wafts through my nostrils, their scent is so strong it creeps down from my nose, until I can taste it in the back of my mouth. The rolling meadows sprawl out on either side of the path I stand on, but In front of me a tall hedge prevents any possible chance of this being a straightforward journey.  The winding road it is, I think to myself. I set off.

 It’s a busy day and people are dotted all over the path taking advantage of the beautiful weather. Apart from one boy spinning around in circles everyone seems to be standing still. Just standing there, eyes fixated forward not even blinking, curious. I can’t be dealing with any distractions today. Avoiding those beady eyes seems wise. Skipping past the spinning boy, as he turns his back to me, I continue on to my destination.

Whistling a jovial tune I eat up the pathway at a brisk pace.  There is no way I can keep this pace up but I am excited. A world of dreams and adventures awaits. Rounding the first hedge I spy my second obstacle. Long grass. I hate long grass, not because I’m allergic, it’s what hides inside that concerns me. I haven’t got time to spare and this 20-foot patch of grass could prove troublesome. I decide to take it at a run.  Pulling my hat down further over my shadowed face and taking a deep breath I rock back and forward preparing to charge across. The less steps the better. I’m off. I try to be as quiet as possible but each step seems to resonate like a gong, echoing around the quiet meadows.  The blades of grass reach knee high, scratching against my exposed legs.

A few more steps and I’ll be free. This is easy. Two more steps. I will be at the next town in no time, what was I worrying about? One step. Stop. I come to a halt, frozen in my tracks. One foot has found freedom but the other still trails in the grass. I look around, everything is spinning. The world is melting into itself.  The sky is beneath me, no above me, no above and beneath me.  The hedges are spiraling into the grass. Completely disorientated and nauseous I reach into my pocket. I know what’s coming. I clench the cool metal of the spherical object in my pocket. Running my fingers around the grooves that wrap around the ball’s circumference I find what I’m looking for, a small circle. I am ready. Everything goes black.

A wild Pikachu appears.

The above account is a memory, a personal experience I have had, that has a happy place in my heart. How can anyone say this isn’t a “real” memory? It’s as real as riding my bike for the first time, my first day at school, or my first soccer game. Videogames have been part of my life as long as I can remember, always have done and always will do. They provide a sense of escapism that sucks me into an adventure and allows me to forget everything else around. For the duration of my play all that matters are my goals in the game. A warrior, an explorer, a racer I don’t just play as a character, I completely become them. I am told my eyes will go square. My world is square, made up of millions of tiny pixels. I am told videogames are a waste of time. John Lennon once said, “Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.” Videogames are experiences, enriching our lives with opportunities that we simply can’t achieve otherwise. So to the people that say humans can’t fly, I say nay. Been there, done that, got the achievement.