Sagacyte's BG corner

This post is dedicated to a special Twitter friend.

My brother is not a geek or a nerd. He's a lawyer. He works over 8 hours every day and barely has time to chat via social networks, much less to play anything. He's always stressed but makes good money. His idea of fun is going out with his friends, watching sports and partying. You could say he's successful - the complete opposite of me. The night of his wedding he entered the church and walked to the front while the overhead chorus sang an acapella version of John William's Superman theme (from the 70s movies).

TIME PARADOX!

You see, my brother, as busy as he is, likes Superman. But it's not a fandom like my Final Fantasy fandom or people's love for The Avengers. I don't think he even reads any comics, but he has gone to the movies to watch the recent flicks. His car has a Superman sticker. I think he likes the idea of Superman: justice and good. He wanted that song to play on his wedding day, and his wife didn't argue, as she knew it's what he likes and who he is.

Sometimes we tend to hide our likes or hobbies to fit the masses. Other times we have to face people who will ridicule us for it - who belittle us because we're not into sports or like to "go out for a beer". In extreme cases some of us are attacked because of it. But we cannot deny who we are or the things we enjoy. As we grow older we realize that this world is so fucked up that we like to have our little safe spots: places or things where we can just forget about it all and relax. Movies, videogames, comics - you name it. We also realize that hiding it is the worst mistake you could do.

I love videogames. I have played them since... I can't even remember a time before them. They have been my hobby for over 30 years. Why should I hide it if it is in my being to game? If I had done so I'm certain I would be miserable, trying to conform to a society that didn't like me for who I was. If I had hidden this passion I may have a different life, doing different things - but I wouldn't be happy, looking longingly at others doing that which I didn't have to guts to stick with. I would be a lie.

We are not alone. We are not a weird bunch that is destined to die alone. Not anymore. Maybe 30 or 20 years ago we were anomalies but look at us today: look at the Avenger's box office totals, look at the videos with people's reactions to a Kingdom Hearts sequel announcement (amazing video btw), look at the attendees to ComicCon. Sometimes even making a hobby (gaming/comic/movies) dedicated account on Twitter can let you meet wonderful people, make friends, find new opportunities, jobs and sometimes love.

In that sense I am extremely lucky for my wife. She's not a gamer like me (insane), but knows my tastes and understands when I get excited because a new Final Fantasy is coming out, or how much I enjoy playing online. Sometimes her demands are pretty simple: wait for her before I win a Metal Gear Solid game (she's a Snake fan!), a demand I get from her cellphone, that at the moment has a Naruto wallpaper. Today just happens to be my 9th year wedding anniversary.

So don't give up. Don't hide. Just be yourself. If people like you, let it be because of who you are and not a mask. If people enjoy what you say, let it be that they enjoy what's in your head and not some made up commentary made to please the masses or "look cool". If someone loves you, let it be because of who you are.

Game on.

- Sagacyte

This post originally appeared in my blog.