[Hello! First timer here]

?Sadly. most times this is but a fallacy, you're only as "loved" and "accepted" as your performance in the game. Back in my wow days, I got really good at healing and would often get called in for raids, often taking the main healing roles in them. One day though, I was sick, had a headache and Lightheadedness, could barely function but still agreeded to join a raid cause they were my "friends" and you don't let friends down. needless to say, I made that 10 man raid wipe once, then twice, then 3 times, and by the time we were getting ready for a 4th and final attempt, they had started to call me names and belittling me. I couldn't belive they'd ever say those things to me after I gave my best despite feeling like udder garbage, but it is what it is, so I left the raid, the guild and never talked to them again.

I'm not saying you can't find really good friends in games, but it becomes a true challenge to do so since things are not always what they seem. Now I'd rather stick to irl friends or none at all, works better for me.

?I can really relate to this. I used to play WoW, and I missed a guild raid one time and people were pissed. I thought they would understand that I had irl activities that took priority, but to some people that game is their reality.

[Hello! First timer here]

Hi, I'm Sean. I'm currently a junior at Purdue University studying Computer Science. I haven't ever been at the point in my life where I played video games for 16 hours a day every day, but I did play a lot in my past. Pretty much all my friends and people that I know in my Computer Science classes like to play video games and stay inside in their free time. This was me during my freshman year, and I have been trying to break away from that trend. Last year, I joined an Honor's Fraternity, and I started going to the gym. Now, I am the Fundraising Chair for my group, and I lift weights almost every week day.

I've been majorly cutting down on video games for a few months now, but the thing is: I feel like I am part of two worlds. I have one side of me that is telling me to embrace my "inner nerd" and really be a part of the "Computer Science culture" with a certain group of people, and another part of me that I am developing where I am social and outgoing.

I know within myself that these two lifestyles aren't mutually exclusive, but it is just a difficult feeling sometimes. I am passionate about software development and coding, but I don't get satisfaction from staying inside and playing games in my free time. I am enjoying working out, meeting new people and experiencing new things, but at the same time there is a large part of me that is reserved and logical.

Have you ever had this feeling? Where it feels like you are balancing in the middle of two lifestyles to make your own path?

I am quitting video games cold turkey, because I want to embrace this "best of both worlds" feeling. I get caught up so much in what other people are doing sometimes, and video games made me feel like I belonged to a certain social group, and that I needed to be exactly like the people in this group. The truth is, I like where I am at, being the guy that makes develops software by day, and goes out at night. It just feels so lonely sometimes.