World of Warcraft, Runescape, Tibia, Maple Story, Eve Online, Counter Strike, Battlefield-the list of games that I have played goes on and on. Some were pretty much as waste of time, like Runescape, and some others were really fun. I had not played much growing up, until I hit highschool, and then I really started gaming a lot. When I say a lot, I mean ALOT-games became a regular part of life as I knew it. I quickly became addicted, after falling into a type of game called a Massively Multi player Online Role Playing Game, or MMORPG for short. In short, I had become addicted to gaming, partially thanks to these types of games. I was stuck. However, I eventually pulled myself out of this, and am here to talk about it. Before we start, let us be clear about one thing-games are great, and I still love playing games. However, there is a point where you have to set priorities, and decide what you are going to let control your life and focus your time on.

Basically, I was really, really into gaming when I first started playing MMORPGs, and finding a game called World of Warcraft really did not help much, as it only served to fuel my interest. It was a very popular game, and is still (at the time of this writing) the most popular MMORPG with several million subscribers. I was one of these players, and eagerly dove into the world of Azeroth. Blizzard, the company behind World of Warcraft, or WoW for short, charges players $15 a month to play this game, on top of the fee for the boxed game, making it quite a hefty price tag on this little game to play. However, it was fun and even more fun because I had friends that were playing it too. It got to the point where I had to play WoW everyday-it was unthinkable not to play it. I began to wake up several hours earlier than needed before each day of school, just to get in a few hours of World of Warcraft gaming, even at this horribly early hour of the morning. In short, WoW became a way of life.

After I graduated from highschool, I had to make a choice. I knew I was really, really into gaming, and I enjoyed playing games a lot. However, I also realized that I had switch priorities, if I was going to do well once I stepped from highschool into college. Higher education is too expensive to waste my time and effort because I just wanted to waste time gaming. Ok, maybe not 'waste' time, as I realize that gaming can be a fine use of time, but I had to get my priorities in order. It helped that I had slowly began to wean myself off of WoW, and this, combined with my new determination to stop being addicted to games, really helped me set everything in line. My priorities changed, as I realized that I had to make a change in my way of life. Games are great and all, and a excellent way to kick back and enjoy some free time, but not something I want interfering with my ability to succeed in college and beyond. So, I made a conscious choice to change my life here.
Games can be a really hardcore addiction, but they can also be a great way to unwind. So, in essence, it is important to be able to balance your lifestyle. Find other ways to enjoy life as well, and make sure your priorities are in line. This has been my personal experience with a mini gaming addiction, and how I overcame this. I still game, sometimes a lot, sometimes not at all, but I have come to the important realization to balance everything I am doing, be it gaming, studying, working out, etc. All life things in life must be prioritized, and balanced, and gaming is no different. If you are struggling with a gaming addiction, and want to change, take a serious look at where you are going in life, and where your current priorities will get you. It's worth it.