Oh, One Last Game Please

At this point, I know the person I’ll marry must be a gamer if not he’ll probably be bored at home all the time seeing me behind the console. Oh and if I marry a gamer then I’ll just find a way to send my kids to their grandma.

It took me a long time to admit that I couldn’t go a day without holding my controller. It’s not really something I’m proud of but I can’t do anything about it now. Wait, maybe I can but I don’t want to. looks away. You know what? Let’s blame everything on my brothers, for now.

I’ve always loved playing games. My brothers made it a big deal at home. My mom never really shared chores, so for us, it was more like the winner gets more gaming time and the loser had to do the dishes. If you’re thinking I was the loser, jokes on you! Just kidding, you’re right. I always lost shamelessly but that was the beginning of everything because the more I lost, the more I wanted to redeem myself.

When I’m behind the console, my brain doesn’t even work the normal way. It’s like a long travel to the country side and then the moment the game comes to an end, it’s like finding it hard to find my way back home. More like lost in a mission. My mom hates it so much because anytime this happens, I hesitate to answer simple questions because my brain is definitely still soaked in God of war or trying to understand a simple penalty Bellingham missed in FIFA.

Gaming is that part of my life that I don’t like and don’t hate because it takes a lot from me yet does a lot for me. The moment I start losing weight, my friends know that I’m behind the console again because I will not even remember to eat. The moment I stop replying texts or forget to return calls, my friends know what exactly is going on. I can’t also count the number of times gaming has saved my mental health.

Sometimes I feel like there’s 24 hours in a day until I hold my pad then the hours reduce to 7. I promise that I don’t even spend so much time playing games, or maybe I do, just a little. It’s really funny how the moment I am on the final round of MK, I check the time and it’s almost dawn. Meanwhile I remember very well I turned this thing on just some minutes ago.

As at now, my brother has come for his console because he is just tired of me complaining every time about how I’m always tired at work. The thing is, I’m not one to go to bed early but I always wake up early for that thing called work. Stubbornly, the moment I get hold of my pad, it’s always “one last game, oh one last game” and before I realize, it’s 2067 and I already have a grandchild.