Often times I have to ask myself “Oh no, is that the sun?” I’ll break my eyes away from my TV screen, and I see light creeping in from my window. Instant panic sets in, I drop my controller on my bed and check my phone, only to discover that it is six in the morning and I have class at 2 p.m. and haven’t slept at all. A casual one hour gaming break that started at 8 p.m. turned into a 10 hour gaming binge.

Then the rush begins, the rush to check and see if I have a test that day or any homework due that I should’ve done the night before. The rush to get a few hours of sleep, the rush to make myself get up and get ready and kick myself for not putting my retainer in the night before. And finally grab breakfast and rush out the door.  

Sitting in an almost 4 hour class, which normally isn’t so bad, turns into a dead tired, under-caffeinated nightmare. I pray I can stay awake until break so I can run to the University Store, Charlie Brown’s Cafe or Sip for some much needed caffeine.

Finally, class ends and I can head home for some much needed sleep. I walk to my dorm and into my room and the first thing I see are my various game systems, all loaded with my current favorites. It takes all my strength to not hop right back into each of their respective worlds. Now once I’m done with dinner, homework or studying, you’d think I would head straight to bed right? Well that’s always my intention, but the call of Fallout, Mass Effect, Dragon Age and the Legend of Zelda are too strong to deny.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Video games are too important for me to just stop playing. The stories, the characters, even the worlds I’m dropped into are so important to who I am. Whenever I load a game and hear the opening music, it feels as if I’m being welcomed home. Playing video games isn’t just about staying up late and being tired in class. It’s about the experience while playing.

It’s about talking with my friends who are playing the game the same time I am. It’s about going to conventions and events like E3 just to learn about sequels and new games coming out in the next few years. It’s about going to Gamestop and pre-ordering and spending part of your paycheck for a brand new highly anticipated game. It’s about meeting new people who also love the same games that you do

There’s also a stigma to being a gamer, especially a female gamer. A lot of people, primarily guys, believe that we don’t belong or should “stay in the kitchen.” That we’re fake or that we game to get attention from guys. Yeah they’re right, I put over one hundred and fifty hours into Dragon Age: Inquisition or Fallout 4 individually to so I can get attention from guys. As if I don’t have better things to do with my time.

Even though I may receive a lot of hate and negative comments, whether it’s online or at the video game store where I work. I wouldn’t change it. If I stopped playing video games, I would be removing a major part of my life that makes me, me.