Week 8.
By Ben Davis
Staff Writer
Do you want to know how cool I am?
One year ago, the best thing going on in my life was the fact that I had a level 97 Light Sorceress with 56,000 damage. She had matching Stones of Jordan and a perfect Maras.
I also had a paladin that could clear hell chaos alone and an amazon with over 25,000 attack rating. I know, I know… you’re jealous, and rightfully so.
It’s not a coincidence that the better my Diablo II account got, the more I weighed, and the lower my grades were. It turns out that spending 12-14 hours per day (yeah, really.) in front of a computer screen killing demons and archangels isn’t the best way to maintain a GPA and stay fit. I haven’t played since November and life is exponentially better.
While my addiction to these fantasy dungeon battles is definitely more nerdy, it’s just one of the several things that can inhibit life, health, relationships and academics.
How many people do you know that party way too much? How many classes have you skipped because you’re still pretty hung over? How many papers got put on hold because you were gossiping or flirting over Facebook chat? Most people can find a balance. But some people aren’t so lucky.
I have a pretty extremist mindset. When I get involved in something, I don’t just do it a little bit. It’s all or nothing. Sometimes this can be a good thing (doing life, down 85 pounds), other times, not so much (There’s a reason I’m #32 in America at “Mario Kart: Double Dash!!”). The hours that I’ve put into meaningless things that I have nothing to show for almost forced me out my academic career and into the real world. My God, what a scary thought. Almost as scary as the fact that Diablo III is coming out next year and I am extremely curious. I have no urge to buy it right now, but what about when it comes out? I’ve been involved with Diablo since I was in 5th grade; can I just ignore it? I hope so.
Whatever our hobbies, we have to understand that they are just that, and not let them take over. We have to recognize early when we think we might be spending too much time with things that aren’t necessarily important and work to remedy the situation. Yeah you might be the best beer pong player on campus, you might beat all your friends at Madden, you might even have a level 80 death knight; but in the long run, does it really matter?
Yes, it’s true. These are our glory years. Have fun, date people, and get crazy every now and again, but do it responsibly. We all know people who have dropped out because of the bad decisions they’ve made. We have to find the balance. It’s essential.
Do good this week.
P.S. As an epilogue to last week’s dating column; I took a girl out on a legit date Friday night. She had a good time, I did too and we’re doing it again soon. No big deal.
