Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Matt Anderson, I've become your traditional gamer over the past few years. all though i wasn't always into gaming, but actually i owe a lot to video games. Before i started gaming about 4 years ago i was really into drugs. Parties, vandalism and all around debauchery was how i had my fun. I was a mindless punk kid who dropped out of high school because he'd rather do a line then take a quiz, but thankfully those days are behind me and I'm really starting to learn who i am, and yes it is thanks to video games.
You see i started working in a mall a few years back, at a certain sandwich company. i had a parade of daily regulars from the various stores and surrounding businesses. one in particular was a manager at Gamestop. He and i talked often and found out we had several mutual friends and some common interests in things like sports, music, and so on. One day a few months before the holiday season he asked if I'd like a job. Well, at that point in my life i owned a Playstation 2 that was tucked away in a box some place with no controllers because i probably sold them for a fix, had no usable knowledge about video games, and had probably only played things like Madden and Tony Hawk, but i thought what the hell its better then making Italian Subs all day. So i took the job.
My first few weeks were okay, I didn't fail like i had believed i would, or wasn't lynched by a mob of crotchety games. Actually I got to know some of the regulars rather quickly and really liked most of them. Many of them knew i didn't know a lot about the gaming world and persuaded me into buying my first console that wasn't a gift, an Xbox 360. With that i also purchased a copy of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Needless to say it was too much for me and it sat on my shelf for weeks and weeks. One day out of the blue i just wasn't enjoying how the day was going, nothing was on TV, or i was out of weed. so i turned on my 360 had my first video game binge. i played Oblivion for well over 12 hours straight and was hooked, and then Bioshock came out and thats when the skies open and i fell in love.

I played Bioshock day in and day out. All my free time went to that game. I was just amazed by the game and the feeling that overcame me while i plated. Reminiscing about it as I type this is bringing back all those goose bumps and fuzzy feelings I had when I first played. I had no idea video games could influence my mood like Bioshock had. It was like all my favorite things at once. Listening to Bad Religion, watching Reservoir Dogs, eating Macaroni and Cheese, and Reading Papillion. I felt I had found my new addiction in life and all others be damned i didn't need them anymore.
Soon several months had past and I hadn't even noticed that I didn't go out for a cigarette every half an hour, have a bag of weed in my pocket every waking moment, or when my friends called asking if i wanted to get drunk id say something like "No sorry some of my friends and I are getting together for some COD4 tonight" I was becoming a gamer, but I was also becoming something else, an adult.
You see, the more time I spent playing video games the more I got into the culture. Not just the late night button mashing, but something more. I found myself at various forums to listen to peoples opinions. I visited video game related news sites more often then i did things like MSN, or CNN. Then I soon began using twitter to converse daily with total strangers who share the same interests. I could relate to these people. so much more then i could relate to my old friends.
Today I felt I had to say thank you to the people who have helped me. Even if they weren't aware. My friends that I have met online, the wonderful people who make video games, my fellow coworkers, my amazing girlfriend and my family. I thank you all. finally after years of being nothing and having no direction in life i can look to the future and see a future for myself. I have enrolled in school, been clean for several years, found an amazing girl, and am happy to be a geek.
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