About 3 years ago my parents got divorced at the time I didn’t know what to do I was eleven and about to graduate from sixth grade. I had plenty of friends, a good house, food and two loving parents with stable jobs my life wasn’t bad by any means but the fact that my parents wouldn’t be together anymore scared me.

I had never known anyone who had divorced parents or if I did know someone they never talked about it. I was confused and didn’t have any idea what to do I wanted to get away from all of it for at least a while so I turned to video games.

When I played video games my mind went in lock down mode I didn’t have to think about what was going on in my life I could just not worry and enjoy the moment in the game. At one point I was obsessed I would play video games day and night even choosing to play instead of doing my homework or working on a project I knew was due the next day i would always tell myself “I’ll do it later, you’ll have time, maybe she won’t check this time, you can copy your friends at break,”  my mind procrastinated on everything I could barely get one thing done without getting distracted I knew I had a problem and I needed to slow down so one week I shut off all my electronics except for my phone and  promised I wouldn’t use them for one week to see if I could do it .I made it three days without my electronics and then I broke down. I could tell that I probably wouldn’t be able to make it a couple days without electronics so instead I started setting limits 2 hours of computer time for school days not including homework and 4 hours on the weekends. This strategy of using limits worked I was able to make it through the one month of school left till summer vacation it was hard but i got most of my missing work in and i was able to get my grade up in a lot of my classes.

I still use video games to escape sometimes and in away I think that’s actually a good thing as long as its in proportion. If you are mad at someone you don’t wanna react in a way where you regret it take a short video game break it can help your mind cool down before you react. If you feel sad video games can help you by lifting your mood. If you’re just in a bad mood for some reason you can play a video game like assassin’s creed or call of duty and you can take your prissiness out on the game not on someone else.

Video games are actually a really good way to connect with friends too. League of legends and other MMO games are a great way to connect with your friends when you  can’t meet in person or if you just wanna play an online game.If you have a lot of stress in your life video games can help relieve stress when you play a video game you relax and have a good time

I love video games the feeling I get when I play video games is indescribable. games are a great way to connect with friends and relieve stress it doesn’t matter if you’re a fan-girl a,bookworm ,a random person just looking for a hobby or an experienced gamer anyone can have a great time playing video games.

by BECCA SPAHN