On topic

Doing these weekly blog posts is supposed to improve my writing, but all I've really done with them is talk about writing. So, this week I'll talk about me instead of just about stories, grammar, or the writer's passion.

I've been playing Stardew Valley today, and it reminds me of the Harvest Moon series. I enjoyed the Gamecube Harvest Moon when I was a kid, though my parents didn't understand my obsession with farming or agriculture. It was a large inspiration for why I became interested in plants and farming in general, though it's only one of many obsessions I've garnered from gaming.

In fact, video games have really been my gateway to learning about the world. When I was a kid, my mother would take me to 'Gem and Mineral' shows where they displayed rare gemstones and rocks. I only found them fascinating after I played Spyro the Dragon, and then I became addicted to learning more about them. To this day, if a game has gems, I will most certainly play it.

Unfortunately, video games also hindered my learning experience. When I was in the 4th grade, I was pulled out of school permanently, along with my high-school aged sister. We both became home schooled after my parents realized public school was awful. After I became homeschooled, I mostly played video games, instead of doing any of my school work.

During my teenager years, my mother would try to make me read books, write essays, and really push my academics. I didn't want any of that, so I just didn't do it. It's why I fell out of writing for a while when I was a teen, I didn't want to write because I was already having to do it for school. I traded learning for games like Day of Defeat, World of Warcraft, Pokemon, and Ratchet and Clank.

But being home schooled did give me an advantage too. I got to learn the more important things, and the things I needed for the career I wanted. I'm an IT/Webmaster, but I have no college degree because I really didn't need one, as I specifically spent a good portion of 'high school' learning how computers worked. I was lucky enough to be raised in the generation where computers were far more difficult to use, and became easier within the last ten years. I got to see both the good and bad.

Without limitations on my schooling, like the public education system gives it's students, I was able to learn and spend time on the things I wanted, like advanced technology. Unfortunately, writing was not one of the things I wanted to learn, but I'm slowly making up for that regret.

Guess I can't get away from talking about writing for long. Oh well. It was worth a shot.

~TheTimeSword