The Games We Play

I'm a gamer. Mostly PCs nowadays. Still a fan of RPGs, and loving the substitute satisfaction of a sure win at the end of it all. I'm pretty good at games. Most games. Like badminton, or chess, or scrabble. But there are some games that I'm not so good at.

One of these games is the game of fitting in. Where peer pressure is abundant, accepted, and constantly pressing on my feeble head every day. I've been going out of character trying out new experiences in my social circle. Well, trying out would be a nice way to put it. Conforming to the social norm is more like it. I feel like I gave in to that notion, just to feel that sense of belonging. I went to the clubs and bars to meet new people; I went drinking so I could be hang the cool gang; I went to the gym to workout my eyes more than other parts. These are common agendas nonetheless, yet something still felt amiss. There are other ways to win in this game, no? Yet I chose the path most trodden. I'm sorry, Mr. Frost.

Then there's the dating game. As much as I've discussed with so many people about it, I can't seem to get it right. Geez, what's a boy to do to get your attention? After numerous hits and misses, the one common conclusion people seem to draw to is that there's no better guide than experience. Gotta get out more, I suppose.

They're all games, or at least, I see them as such. And they're all part of the big game of life. Maybe it's easier for me to accept these experiences that way. That there are rules, players, goals, limits, visuals, explanations, or no explanations, and progress, codes, cheating, but most pertinent of it all, that it should be fun, and that it ends somewhere, sometime.

It's a large, complex and comprehensive game.... Nothing a wrong mind can't handle. It's just not so good at it.... yet.