Games have always been around for me. Which is very good when you're the youngest of 4 children and everyone else is at least 5 years older than you.

No one wants to play with you, and to top it all off you're poor enough that you have to adjust your sleeping habits so when you don't get to eat you can just sleep until the stomach pain dies down.

My childhood was a complete mess. I was poor, I lived about 35 minutes out of anywhere you could even call a town, no central heat/air, and my parents both suffer from mental illnesses.

Unless, my brothers happen to be taking an interest in me that I was on my own.

I mostly played with the animals outside of our house and told them all my problems. On the weekends however, I got to go stay with my cousin and play his video games.

There was no greater experience for me as a child.

Running through exotic locations, making friends with characters, and humming soundtracks when I wasn't playing.

To see the great Mana tree was awe inspiring, and to travel the End of Time was so fantastical.

But real life often gets in the way of these fantastic places and narratives....
Because we were so poor. I didn't get to eat as much as I should have. Leading to lots of problems with my health.

I developed Rickets. My legs hurt constantly and I would cry myself to sleep. Walking up and down the stairs at our house became a near impossibility without being on all fours.
Not being able to run and play as a child is devastating. But my video games were still there. I would lay in bed and play all day sometimes. Going places I never dreamed of.

They offered an escape from my situation. A solution to have experiences that I couldn't participate in. Friends that I could play with and an overall feeling that I was still doing something that would have an impact even if it was to fictional characters.

But sadly it was not of the end of it. I developed ulcers which still hurt me on occasion to this day. My spine is compressed, and I'm about 6 inches shorter than I should be. I have a weak immune system, and if I'm in the sun for more than about 15 minutes I burn terribly.

Today, I had to call out of work due to severe ulcer pain. But even now, I lay in bed and watch my husband play Red Dead Redemption.

And I escape and have some relief from my pain and my troubles.