When I was growing up some of my best friends were video games. I had normal friends and I would see them in the day time but when it was late and I was too young to wander the boring suburban streets I took to a world of 16-bit RPGs and adventure games. Admittedly this article will only be understood by other dorks out there. I remember a time when the graphics in video games were too poor to display faces on the hero; enter the imagination of a 10 year old who puts himself in the place of the brave wizard (I was always the wizard) and enters the world of make believe.
All of these games begin in a similar fashion were you are too weak to wander too far and you must build up your strength and hit points to be able to progress in the game. You must begin with lesser monsters and work your way up to fighting more powerful enemies with your upgraded weapons and magic skills. These games were primitive but they did of course pave the way to other open-ended adventure games to come many years later like the Elder Scrolls series, a line of games that took my imagination back about fifteen years.
Eventually you work your way through the map in the game and about halfway through the game there comes a point when you discover a vessel of some sort which gives you access to the entire map. This usually begins as a raft or canoe and moves up to a ship however if you guide your way far enough through the game you will come across the most sought after possession in the RPG world: the airship.
The Airship grants you free passage through the world and upon first setting foot in your airborne vessel you see the world from above and the map is yours to explore. Call me silly but I have felt myself progress through different 'vessels' of life beginning first with bicycles and skateboards and after time I moved on to better means of exploration such as my first car. This sensation didn't only come to me in the form of vehicles, I also had the same sentiment when I graduated from university and I felt that the world was completely mine to visit where I please. This is why I started traveling I guess, I was fascinated by the freedom which comes with my owning my very own airship/map of the known world.
A friend of mine named Joe once pointed out this comparison before so I guess that I couldn't say that I made up this idea on my own but it has always resonated with me. Freedom is clearly what we want from life and we are given permission to board an airship of any kind. We tend to let our hair down and enjoy the ride. We take road trips and long walks or bike rides to see different corners of the map and we feel good about ourselves when we have seen something new. I always wanted to take this to an extreme level. I wanted to be the one who wasn't afraid to explore the other sides of the mountain and I wanted to be the dork that amounted to something. Growing up sucks and I would never want to repeat it again. I'm glad I spent so much time exploring new virtual worlds while I was too young to explore my own because now I'm free to do what I will and I know that there are other people out there who feel me. I know there are other artists who used to press pause in the middle of a game and draw everything on the screen. I know other people wanted to change their names to those of video game characters and I know that others out there can't wait until everyone else in their house is asleep so they can catch up on some classics no matter how bad the graphics are to today's standards.
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8 August, 2014
Where I sit right here in this moment there is not a damned soul that would recognize me who knows my location. I could walk in any direction into the nothingness and everythingness of this amazing city I often call home and I would find oblivion in its many forms. This story has been fun to write and sometimes I wonder what the outcome would have been if I could somehow take it all back. I don't want to take it all back, I like the way things turned out with or without the misfortunes that have crossed my path. As the summer burns outside I can sense this feeling that something cool is coming up next. *as per promise I made to an aunt who reads this blog I won't cover my ramblings with obscurity - I signed a six month contract which takes my job path to 7 March, the day before my birthday. In between these dates I have a three week detour through USA and two separate holidays afterwards where I could disappear to any of these amazing locations surrounding my country. After my contract is over I'll take to another adventure for a month or two yet I'm not sure where. I can't help but feel fortunate for this opportunity but I have worked very hard to come here. I'm a happy fish in a big pond splashing in the moonlight.
A friend of mine named Joe once pointed out this comparison before so I guess that I couldn't say that I made up this idea on my own but it has always resonated with me. Freedom is clearly what we want from life and we are given permission to board an airship of any kind. We tend to let our hair down and enjoy the ride. We take road trips and long walks or bike rides to see different corners of the map and we feel good about ourselves when we have seen something new. I always wanted to take this to an extreme level. I wanted to be the one who wasn't afraid to explore the other sides of the mountain and I wanted to be the dork that amounted to something. Growing up sucks and I would never want to repeat it again. I'm glad I spent so much time exploring new virtual worlds while I was too young to explore my own because now I'm free to do what I will and I know that there are other people out there who feel me. I know there are other artists who used to press pause in the middle of a game and draw everything on the screen. I know other people wanted to change their names to those of video game characters and I know that others out there can't wait until everyone else in their house is asleep so they can catch up on some classics no matter how bad the graphics are to today's standards.
------------------------------------------------
8 August, 2014
Where I sit right here in this moment there is not a damned soul that would recognize me who knows my location. I could walk in any direction into the nothingness and everythingness of this amazing city I often call home and I would find oblivion in its many forms. This story has been fun to write and sometimes I wonder what the outcome would have been if I could somehow take it all back. I don't want to take it all back, I like the way things turned out with or without the misfortunes that have crossed my path. As the summer burns outside I can sense this feeling that something cool is coming up next. *as per promise I made to an aunt who reads this blog I won't cover my ramblings with obscurity - I signed a six month contract which takes my job path to 7 March, the day before my birthday. In between these dates I have a three week detour through USA and two separate holidays afterwards where I could disappear to any of these amazing locations surrounding my country. After my contract is over I'll take to another adventure for a month or two yet I'm not sure where. I can't help but feel fortunate for this opportunity but I have worked very hard to come here. I'm a happy fish in a big pond splashing in the moonlight.
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