It’s no secret that I’m not a video game person. I’ve written almost a dozen articles about how little I know and understand video games. Amidst the chaos of everything going on right now, video games have been a huge constant in my life; thanks to the impressively active video game community at my school. And I don’t even have to play games to be involved.
How did it happen that a girl so removed from the gaming community could be integrated in so quickly? Out of nowhere I showed up with memes on Discord channels and watching Twitch streams almost every day. Before everything happened with the Coronavirus, I used these gaming platforms to gather information for aforementioned articles and interview questions. It’s a little crazy to look back on those days knowing that I’m now using these platforms almost daily to be social with people.
Social distancing took a lot away from me as a people person. I used to hang out with my friends all the time, and I went out with them frequently. I used to go to events and parties, and was always around people. Now separated from that life style, I’ve had to make some changes to keep social interaction within reach. Virtual hang outs, Netflix parties, and face times with friends are amazing, but there is nothing quite so consistent as the schedule of a dedicated Twitch streamer. I never thought there would be a point where I would rearrange my life around video games, but this is life now. You can’t keep the gamers down, they’ll always be adapting to the world around them. And that’s something we can all learn from them.
I’ll always be the girl who is deathly terrified of LANs, but now I have a newfound appreciation for Discord.