On Sunday, around two in the afternoon, I sat down on the couch with my laptop and every intention of breezing through a blog post for today.
It doesn’t usually take me long to get through something like that, especially when it’s something I’m passionate about, and especially when I already know what I want to write about.
I knew what I wanted to write about: My perpetual struggle between the desires of being a gamer, and the needs of supposedly being a self-sufficient and responsible adult.
By eight in the evening, after a few hours of distraction on Final Fantasy 14, a resurgence of the need to be productive, and another few hours of trying to avoid my DS’ accusatory glare, I had a sad little post that I wasn’t proud of.
I also had more than enough evidence to prove the entire thesis behind that wimpy and vaguely whiny post.
See, the thing about being an adult is that although your parents make it look easy when you’re a kid, there’s a lot more going on than you thought there was. Those dishes aren’t going to wash themselves, and the laundry isn’t as automatic as you’d like.
It turns into a careful balance between what you should do, and what you want to do.
Balancing work and play
Tell me if this sounds familiar.
When I was a teenager, my family had a shared computer that lived in the kitchen. It was my only option for playing those Harry Potter PC games I loved so much, but it came with a catch:
It had a time limit.
That rule annoyed me at the time. I mean, I was a teenager! I wasn’t thinking about the fact that I was in school and I had homework.
Nowadays, that rule totally makes sense. As much as I would love to spend all day playing games, there are things that need to happen. But as it turns out, I’m not as good at enforcing that rule with myself as my mom was.
Now, don’t take this the wrong way. I love having a clean home, and I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty to get things done.
But when you get immersed in a wonderful story and its characters, it’s so easy to look away from the clock and miss the six hours that pass you by.
That’s just the sign of a good game, right?
2 thoughts on “Gaming vs. adulting: The struggle is real”
I love this post 🙂 It’s definitely a tough balance to hit, but I think it’s always good to unwind with a hobby after a long day. It’s a mark of good responsibility. I tend to fire up my PS4 only when my family is asleep and all my responsibilities are fulfilled for the day. That way I can relax and have fun, knowing any problems/duties are already taken care of 🙂
Ugh the struggle is indeed real. I plan to try to start timing my game play and giving myself 2 hours to play and then 1 hour to clean/adult. Also it helps to force yourself to stay in the room you want you work in for the length of an episode or two of a podcast or audiobook chapter (ect). Thanks for the supportive blog.