Video Gaming isn't For Everyone

But there are reasons for many of us to utilize video games.

A video game is an interesting thing for a number of reasons. They can be educational, challenging, as well as entertaining. Personally I never considered myself to be a video gamer. But there's been a lot of changes in my life the past few years, and I think now I would fit into the classification of a video gamer.

The past few years I've come to find a enjoyment in the distractions offered by video games. They're often completely different from day to day life, and the ones I've had a preference for weren't considered gamer games. I really only played things like Second Life, a little bit of Bubsy on Sega Genesis (barely) and a few other games that merely flitted through my life. They didn't really hang around long.

Well, Second Life did. It's held on fairly well, and if I had a regular connection to the internet I could reliably connect by I'd likely still be a regularly player. But unlike the first person shooter games, or other challenges offered by other games, Second Life is more of an interactive social platform. I feel the best description of the game is Barbie Dolls for grownups.

But over time I have evolved. Now I spend a little bit of time almost regularly playing Final Fantasy Online. I've finished a few games, Journey and Dream Chronicles. Perhaps not the most challenging games available but they challenged me while being low on intimidation levels.

But over the years I've realized that video games aren't really for everyone. Some people have creative talents that flourished amazingly well without the hindrance of preprogrammed entertainments. You can argue that video games aren't preprogrammed, but they truly are limited to the scripts that the designers provided to them. Some people are full of stories and ideas that are amazing, they only need an opportunity to share their unique talents with the world and to feel free to do so.

Video games shouldn't be used as a replacement for life. Instead they should be used as a supplement for the things that we may feel to be lacking in our lives. There are for example desires in some of us to travel, but our circumstances may not always enable to do so. Games can offer the opportunity to explore and entertain ideas that our daily lives do not let us experience. This does not mean that they are for everyone. But they are something people should consider more.

Games are not just games anymore. Games have become social environments in which kinship and friendships blossom without the boundaries created by societies unrealistic expectations. But this should not be a replacement for reality. It should merely be a supplement, an opportunity to spread mental wings and gain insight without the confines of our personal boundaries. Personal Boundaries include : Social status, appearance, health, disabilities and many other things that may make it difficult at times to get a fair shake.

But again video games aren't for everyone.

But I've come to the understanding that I can appreciate them for the art form they are, as well as for the opportunities that they provide for different people to explore ideas and thoughts they may otherwise never have the opportunity to enjoy.

So don't judge someone just because they play video games, or any other kinds of games. There is often an underlying need or desire that is being fulfilled by the opportunities offered by the game.

Social Acceptance

Accepting people for who and what they are can be a very difficult thing. It's a very scary thing to realize that you're the outsider and that there isn't a place for you. That's how I feel lately. I'm from the outside, and don't belong here. I think  that it's something that's supposed to fade over time. But does it really?

There are a lot of things that make people different. We each have our own unique sets of experiences that influence the way that we interact with the world. It's not just how we look, or what we wear. It's how we present ourselves. We have a lot to offer to the world when it comes to the way we interpret our experiences. What we've seen and done can help others to understand what it is that they're going through.

But there are so many hurdles that are put up in order to keep people away from us. We don't like strangers, we don't like things that we don't understand, and we fear change. I am not sure what to think as I'm trying to fit into the new place that I find myself in. But it's not as easy as just changing clothes or cutting my hair. Trust me, if it really was as easy as cutting all of my hair off then that's what I would do.

But to earn Social Acceptance means trying to jump through hoops that other people are putting up. People tend to expect them to be leapt through without telling you what they are. Which leaves people grasping at straws. There are many things that people can do, but we can't read other peoples minds. At least, not reliably.

Socially, it's scary when trying to be accepted. But there is nothing that there is that can make it any easier. We can try to offer what we have, or we can shut ourselves off. There aren't clear ways to do these things. Why? Because there is no right or wrong answer.

I'm frustrated. I'm scared, I'm sad, and am lonely. All in all it leaves me feeling kind of depressed and hopeless. But...It doesn't really matter. None of these feelings are going to help me find an sort of acceptance here at all. But I guess that it doesn't really matter. Why?

Because in the long run it isn't going to change anything. What I feel doesn't change the social hierarchy of the place I've entered. What I want to do, what I think might fix something, doesn't matter. I can't fix things if other people want to see me fail. I don't know what I want right now, but I'm tired.

I'm so tired already.