Someone very wise said “In order to break out of prison, one has to know he is locked up”.
And this also holds true, for habits. I was locked in a prison of my habits, without ever realizing it. I was addicted, my addiction was rather unorthodox, it was an addiction for video gaming. And it is as harmful as real narcotic drugs. I never realized how low I was, until the day I fell hard, and started to pullout. I tried hard to break free of this prison around me called Video Gaming Addiction. The situation was so bad for me, that I used to skip my tuitions, lie from my parents, steal money and even go on without rest for long hours and sometimes I went on for days without adequate food.
I was in my 12
th considered as one of the most crucial periods of one’s academic career, and it still haunts me as a part of my sordid past, when is confronted in my B-school, during various discussions that take place there, and my memories get pulled back, from where I was in past.
People today, neglect how much of an effect video gaming addiction has on one’s life. It isolates people, I was stuck in virtual world, as my problems started getting more severe, Constant skipping of schools and tuitions became a norm. The things I used to love, I started withdrawing from, and giving more time to virtual world. It was a blackhole, slowly sucking away at my life bit by bit. I was becoming someone I never was, for what? “Some virtual reward that patted my inner pride in showcasing myself to online players.”
Even some of my friends eventually did not want to hang out with me, as I would always make them wait for extreme extended periods of time while I did my thing. I thought to myself, "Oh, why do I need people who would throw me away like that." and would go back into my games without a thought in my head and started to play again. But as they say, “True Friendship isn’t about being there when it’s convenient it’s about being there when it’s not” And two of my friends came like an angle and saved my life, which I will always owe it to them. They took some bold steps for which I came back to my path, they took the issue directly and addressed it to my parents, who surprisingly for a family I come from was amazingly helpful. I reciprocated to treatment and counselling that I went through, looking back it was not easy to let go of something that I considered that much important.
After that I started working on my left-out academics, and was able to save myself from complete failure, with below average scores. But what it also gave me was time, time to think about what I really want to do with my life, and where I intend to take it. In hindsight I can say decisions I took after my high school are someone of the best decision, I could have taken given the circumstances. What I have also developed is a resolve, a resolve so strong to never let myself stoop down to that extremes. That’s a promise I made myself and have always worked hard, so that I don’t.
Looking at the future, I can now say that, whatever amount of hardship I might face, I know I have friends and my family always at my back and that gives me courage to work even harder and cross my limits, and achieve my ambitions, as I strive for it every day.