Day 206: The Plague

Crickets chirp.

The fan whirs.

“An ally has been slain.”

After months of resistance, the plague has finally come to our doorstep.

League of Legends.

I’ve played once before — on a visit home from college, I met up with my ex from high school and we somehow ended up in a PC bang (is there an English term for this?) where she showed me how to play. It didn’t really click with me then, and I’ve stayed away from it (and pretty much all games) because video games feed on the easily addicted side of my personality like a hungry ghoul.

Well, it’s become a little social activity in my house, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time because my motivation is currently in a lull.

For me, playing video games feels like eating a whole tub of ice cream or getting wasted — feels fun in the moment, but immediately after, there’s the strong sense that it’s not the way I’d like to spend my life. Each hour-long game replaces time that could’ve been spent building somethig neat, reading, learning a new hobby, or cultivating creative pursuits. I don’t mean to imply that all time should be spent productively, but some uses of time just don’t seem worthwhile.

I’ll play a few more times (only when I’m playing with housemates) but I don’t plan to continue past this week. When I look back on this period of my life, I’d rather not have my summary of it be “I got really good at playing video games”.