Why I call myself a Gamer

Embrace yourself, long blogpost (and hopefully not too many spelling mistakes) incoming!

I know some people might look at me and are all like: "You can't be a gamer! You're just a cute wannabe gamergirl!"
When I hear someone call me a wannabe, I get sad (and a little angry). I can see it when they look at a girl that screams for attention just for playing Call of Duty or League of Legends, but I'm not another one of those.
I'll tell you my story from start to present!

When I was 6 years old, my mother left my dad, and found a new man. That man owned a NES with Mario and Ninja Turtles. Don't remember which of the Ninja Turtles it was, but I really enjoyed playing it, even though I didn't make it through the first map x)
He also had a son, and he was like PRO in playing Super Mario Bros, and I remember I always wanted to be as good as he was. We also played one of those Olympic games together. He didn't live with us, but with his mother. But he used to come visit some weekends here and there.
But as the years passed the old NES couldn't take it anymore, and I'm not sure if it still works today.

At my 8th birthday I got my first Gameboy, the pink Gameboy Color, with Pokémon Red! I was so excited; I could now take my games with me wherever I went! And I also LOVED Pokémon at that time (I still do!)
Some time later I got another game for my lovely best bud; Mario Land. I played the crap out of that game, even though I was still playing alot on my Pokémon Red. My family was poor, so I didn't get many games either, so I had to do the best out of what I actually got.

A few years later our family moved again, and I lost my Gameboy :/ I remember I used to cry myself to sleep some night because I missed my precious Gameboy (yeah, I was kinda addicted to Pokémon). Some time later my mom gave me a new Gameboy color, a transparent purple one. She also gave me a new Pokémon game, since she knew I loved the other one, but this one was Yellow. Geez, I remember how happy I was. I could play with Pikachu, just like in the TV show! So Exciting!
But I still missed my Mario game, though. So some more time later I got the Super Mario Bros. Deluxe for the Gameboy color. I plugged it in, and when I started playing the first map I ran to my mom and screamed: "MOM! This is the same game as we used to play on the Tv game box!" (I didn't know any better at that time, silly me). I was so excited! Now I could finally beat my step brother in this game!
After half a year I found my old gameboy, and decided to give the old one to my younger sister, along with Mario Land.

At the same time as these things happened, my dad got himself a computer. So whenever I was visiting him, he let me play games and draw things in paint. I remember he was so proud of my first drawing with the pc mouse :)
I have no idea what my first pc game was, but I remember I used to play a game called "Meteor". I didn't really know how to play it, though, I just ran around shooting everything I came across. I also remember playing Tomb Raider 3, 102 Dalmatians, Mission Kellog's, an loads of other games. I also loved a game called Elf bowling 2. It was hilarious!

As the years passed, I began to play more on the pc, since my dad bought a new one so I could use his old one when I was there. I used less time playing on my gameboy at that time, and started focusing more on drawings. The gameboy was also taken from me alot, since apparently I didn't listen to my mom and step-dad... Well, I was young, and I didn't feel like they treated me right, what was I supposed to do?

Some years later, I think I was 12, my dad gave me my first OWN pc, which I got to take to my mom. At that time I began to learn about pirated games. Like I said earlier, my parents were poor, so I guess that was their solution to give me what I wished for the most. I was often begging my dad for new pc games, but he often had to say no because he couldn't afford it. He had a huge loan for buying a house. My mom didn't seem to want to put any effort into my new hobby, so no help from that part of the family.
In this period I discovered the Emulators, and I was obsessed with all the Pokémon games I could play there. I also had my first encounter with The Legend of Zelda on my N64 emulator. I had no idea what kind of game this was, so I just thought it was just another one of the hard games I'd never get the grip of.
I don't remember all the games I played at that time, but I can recall a Bleach game, a RPG game which I didn't understand anything of since it was Japanese (which I've found out is called "Knockin' on Heavens door", pretty good game), a Naruto game, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and lots more, even a Negima game! Many of them were Japanese so I didn't understand much :p
In the whole bunch with Japanese and emulator games I got The Sims 2, but cracked. I always wanted to have the real copy 'cause I felt it was more right to have it legally. I also played alot of Croc 2 and Elf Bowling 2 :p  What's up with me and only own the 2nd game in gameseries? Lol!

Some years later my step-dad caught me playing games late one evening. I was supposed to be in bed around 10-11, so he was pretty angry to find me awake around 12. He got so angry he just snapped the electrical power cable out of the outlet, and I screamed at him. He didn't know that when he did that he could damage my pc's internal power supply. I was crying as I felt the smell of burnt dust ooze out from my pc. I screamed at him again and jumped into my bed crying. I told him I hate him and he slammed the door behind him. After he was gone I jumped out of the bed and tried to plug in the cable and start my pc again. It wouldn't turn on again... He had destroyed my power supply, and I couldn't play any more on my pc.

I was now stuck with my drawings and Gameboy Color for a year or so. My days were grey, I often just sat there staring in the wall. I was bored. I wanted to play all the fun games I used to play on my pc.
Then it came to my Confirmation day (you know, all this church ritualish things etc), and I got a huge present from my dad. I think I already knew what I was getting from him, but I was still happy as I could be. My dad gave me a new computer! And as a surprise from my step-granny I got my first legal copy of The Sims 2! Both my dad and step-granny got a huge hug, and I cried of happiness.
After some time my step-brother came to visit again and he showed me Counter Strike 1.6. I didn't know how to play it, so I barely tried to. x) I remember not understanding anything whenever I planted a bomb and the game was over. Like, wtf just happened?

A year later I finally got to move to my dad. That had been my biggest wish since me and my mom moved out. My dad had found love through the internet, and she played alot of interesting game too! She was the one who gave me the cracked version of The Sims 2.

I was happy, went to High school where I could draw as much as I wanted, and my dad always cared for me when I came home. I was also getting into manga and anime, so I felt the world was opening up for me to discover more.
I found out there was more emulators to try, and alot of new games was unlocked for me. My step-mom also owned a Playstation 2 with a few games, including Need for Speed Most Wanted and GTA San Andreas. I was playing those games alot, and almost forgot about the whole pc for a period as I got to buy and play Kingdom Hearts. Oh, I loved that game, and still do! I also bought Guitar Hero 3, and I enjoyed playing that as well, but I always just played it for a while before going back to Kingdom Hearts.
After almost a year I got my first real boyfriend. He was playing alot of games too, and here comes my first meeting with Left 4 Dead and Final Fantasy X! Two of my favorite games. :)
From here on I've just extended my game-library as I've walked. I started playing Maplestory through a friend, tried World of Warcraft thanks to a stupid ex (my 2nd boyfriend) that only cared about that game at that time, Minecraft from another of my exes, and Battlefield from the 4th one. today I play more than just Pokémon and Mario, and I'm eager to try new games as they come by. I currently have a notebook for all the games I'm currently working my way through, and I think I got 4-5 pages filled up atm :X
I'm also doing walkthroughs of some of my favorite games on Youtube

I haven't played all the Final Fantasy games, or all the Zelda games, but I DO love playing games! And I've had a passion for it ever since I got the first touch of it. Some people may think I'm addicted to gaming... Maybe I am? All I do know is that gaming makes me happy, even when I'm on my worst.

So now I'll ask you... Would you consider me a gamer?


Until next time~!

~Kori