Escape from reality

By Mario P

The pandemic has been one of the most difficult times, especially for students. That was no different for Tommy Nguyen. Isolated and shut inside his home, there wasn’t much Nguyen could do to help cope with some of the difficulties and struggles, but one thing that did help him was gaming.

Gaming has always been a passion of high school student Tommy Nguyen. It's led him to making new friends, having fun, and fulfilling his needs for community, stability, and creativity, allowing him to grow as a person.

Nguyen mostly likes to play games for fun instead of competitively.

“I wanna play games for fun because I feel like you don't gain anything from competitive; the whole point of playing a game is for fun, and that's good,” said Nguyen.

Some of his personal favorites are: Postal 2, Dead Rising, Roblox, and Garry's mod.

“I would recommend Garry's mod because there's a lot of mods you install and there's endless possibilities.”

During quarantine, Nguyen was playing some of his favorite games on Roblox, when he met some people in game, who went by the online aliases of Ghost, Snow, Dank, and Seeker. These friends shared the same interests as Nguyen, and he quickly became friends with them.

He was able to talk to them about some of the struggles that he’d been dealing with, and soon realized he was not alone in these difficult times.

Though they would communicate online, they became like a selective family to Nguyen.

“I wish that me and my friends could organize a party when we meet each other in real life. We’ve known each other for so long. I consider my friends my family because they are a part of my life now.”

Gaming is often an escape from reality for most. It can fulfill needs such as community, belonging and empowerment. Through an environment like this, people are able to grow and thrive, and learn things about themselves they never even knew.