Let’s take a walk down memory lane!

I think I was born at the right time for prime video gaming, where I really got to grow up with some really cool gaming stuff, from Gameboy to Wii and everything in between.

However, for the longest time, I wasn’t really into gaming or even considered myself any type of gamer beyond casual.

During my childhood, I had video games. Don’t get me wrong. Gameboys and PlayStations and some old NES games as well. But I was a super active kid and was always on the move. Video games were a way to pass boring times.

Long car rides. Being stuck with my mom at the nail salon. When I was sick and was forced into bed or a chair for long hours at a time. It was never the primary way I spent my time as a kid.

I was always outside, building things, and getting dirty. Not that there was anything wrong with either childhood. It’s just that video games were ways to pass any period of time that would be boring otherwise.

I did enjoy them though.

I remember my mom buying my first Gameboy and how excited I was for it. I remember the entire day so vividly.

I remember playing PlayStation with my dad while I was sick.

And those moments were fun for me.

But there was also not so fun things attached to gaming for me as well.

My cousin loved video games. We’re the same age, literally a handful of days apart. Unlike me, he was not a sporty kid and spent more time gaming than anything else.

My cousin is also a poor loser.

And when we played any type of sporting game or any game where I knew it, like checkers or monopoly or so on, I’d win. I never let him win either because that’s not how I was raised.

In my house, if we played a game everyone played to win. If I lost, I lost. If I won, I’d earned it.

But video games were never my strong suit, and he had a much bigger collection than I did, would always want to play a game I didn’t know, and would refuse to explain the rules. Or the very foreign controller. To ensure he’d win.

I love playing games. And if I lose, I’m a good sport. But if you cheat, I’ll be livid.

This happened a lot throughout our childhood, where gaming with my cousin was never a fun thing. My cousin even once brought me to his room to shove his new Nintendo SP in my face, hoping to make me jealous.

For me, it soured a lot of gaming for me.

However, I grew up and found the world was a whole lot bigger than just the people I grew up with.

Then, I was diagnosed with chronic illness that will leave me stuck in bed more often than not.

I needed a way to pass the time, so I returned to an old friend – video games.

And I’ve found something amazing since then – I love them.

A good story or compelling play or awesome mechanics. And suddenly, I want to recapture all those years I thought I didn’t really care for something I didn’t get to enjoy properly as a kid.

Not that it’s all my cousin’s fault. Combined with the sour memories and my indifference to gaming as a child, it tipped the scales.

I purchased a PlayStation 4 and haven’t looked back.

I have no idea where this gaming adventure will take me, but I’m thrilled to have this hobby in my life. I hope you’ll join me as I venture into becoming a gamer.

Thanks for reading!

Spread the love and game on!