This is a true story I’m about to share with all of you dear readers. (Seriously, if you’re reading this I appreciate you. A lot.)
This is a story about how Mass Effect was there for me when I needed someone.
It was my last year in high school. I went to a very small school in Nowhere, ND. (There were 20 kids in my graduating class. Yeah.) Now that I have your pity, we can continue with the story.
I decided to spend my senior year in Germany. I was getting sick of living in a small town. Everyone knew everyone, or so they thought. You never met anyone new. Everyone was set in their ways. Nothing exciting ever happened. I wanted to leave all of that small town life behind. This also meant leaving my girlfriend of the time behind.
The day I got on that plane to leave North Dakota was our 9 month anniversary. After a month or two of being away from her in Germany she started hinting that she didn’t want to be with me anymore. She wanted “a break.”
This devastated me. Eventually it became pretty clear, though she never actually said it straight out, that she was breaking up with me. From over 1,000 miles away. My heart broke. My heart got fragged, assassinated, 360 no-scoped, chain sawed, whatever.
Then my host parents (lovely people) took me on vacation completely oblivious as to how my heart was being held together by false hope that maybe I’d someday be with her again.
We went to a small little house that they owned in Holland. I can’t remember the name of the town. I don’t really remember much from that short vacation. My mind and my heart were elsewhere.
I brought my Xbox 360 along on the trip. (My host parents suggested it. I guess they figured I might get bored.)
I spent most of that small vacation sitting in front of the TV playing Mass Effect. At night I would lie in bed and try not to cry, try not to think about anything.
Like I said, she got a critical hit on my heart.
One day on our vacation the three of us took a trip to Amsterdam. No, we didn’t do anything crazy or outrageous so stop wondering. We went to a Madame Tussaud's wax figure museum. That helped take my mind off things for a while. Other than that the only other thing I remember doing in Amsterdam was stopping for ice cream at a place that had a dalmation, and going to a book store. It was an English book store. Luckily for me.
I found my way to the science fiction section and I was very pleased to find the new Mass Effect novel I had been wanting to read.
I spent my time on that vacation playing Mass Effect during the day and reading my Mass Effect novel at night.
I didn’t have anyone to comfort me. I was very torn up inside. The time we were on that vacation I had no internet, no way of contacting anyone.
I felt very alone.
But I had Mass Effect.
Mass Effect was there for me. Mass Effect helped take my mind off the pain and confusion I was going through.
I love Mass Effect for a lot of reasons. And this is one of them.
Games can be there for you.
If you’re going through tough times and you just need to get away from it all, to forget about it all for just a little bit, play a game. Focus only on the game and nothing else.
Forget about what’s ailing you for the short time you’re in the game. After some time away from reality you may reemerge more prepared to deal with whatever is going on in your life. Just don’t hide in games forever. Sooner or later you’ll have to face reality. That’s where your friends and family come in. Don’t have any? Then come to me. I’ll help you.
I want you to be happy.
I’ve been heartbroken.
I’ve been depressed.
It sucks.
I don’t want you to have to go through that.
I’m here for you. Seriously.
So enjoy your game.
Enjoy your life. If you’re not, let your games help, let me help.
Be happy.
PS. That heartbreak story happened a long time ago. I’m over it and very happy. I have an amazing girlfriend who makes me very happy. I've been with her for almost a year and a half at the time of this writing. And I have all of you readers! Everyime someone reads one of my posts it makes me happy.
I'm happier than I've ever been thanks to my friends, my girlfriend and this book, which has changed my life.
The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
I think you should send this to your host family if you are still in touch.
ReplyDeleteGgames work just as good as any other activity that draws attention and diverts thought from your problems - like movies, books, hard work or travelling.
ReplyDeleteIt's not some specifics of a certain activity that helps - it's that some of it triggers what is called an escapism reaction, providing person with an escape from actual world with its problems, letting to forget them and thus heal those emotional wounds caused by it. You'd be surprised but it's the same mechanism that causes people to use alcohol or drugs in some cases.
That book about "englighment" you mentioned employs about the same mechanism of escaping. Also, what he writes about "you" and "talking you"... pfeh! It's some of the most primitive stuff (about a 1st semester of psychology) and not entirely accurate. If you'd read some real psychologists, like Eric Berne, i think you would find them an interesting read.