EPT
Like a lot of people my age, I've played video games my whole life. They are a part of who I am, and that will never change. When I was 18 my parents divorced. It was 1998 and StarCraft was just released. I took the split pretty hard, I buried my feelings and spent a lot of time silently alone. I needed a distraction, I had played Warcraft 2 a few times and enjoyed it so I thought I would give SC a try. I loved it from the second I booted it up and it would quickly become my escape from real life for the next few years. I know it was not a healthy thing to do, but it was the only thing I could do.
I never attempted to play competitively, I just played match after match either with friends or strangers online. I never joined a team, nor did I look for one. I was just content to sit alone and play. I loved everything about the game, and that's where it all started. I played SC1 up until 2003-2004 and then put it down.
StarCraft 2 came out and I fell in love all over again. This time my current life situation allowed me to play quite a bit, but something was different. I wasn't looking to run away from anything, I was looking to run towards something. I wanted to join a team (like I had always dreamed as a boy of doing...who didn't dream of being on a professional video game team!?) and I did in December of 2010 when I hooked up with oGaming. I spent a few years there and met some great people, some of whom I still talk to today. I did some graphical/website work and wrote some articles because since I was 18 I realized I had a talent for writing and design. It was a great hobby. I struggled though laddering and made my way to platinum during this time.
A few years later I joined Clarity and I honestly was so excited. I'm being honest when I say that I really didn't think I had a chance to even be on their staff. I always thought of them as being a premier team.
I feel like I have accomplished something. I look at my twitter and I am 1 follower away from 100, and these aren't made up of 70 of my friends....these are almost 100 people who know me strictly from StarCraft (including an ex-pro gamer/GSL in Golden) and think it's worthwhile to follow me. I have over 60 followers on Twitch after only 20 or so streaming sessions and I usually get between 10-15 viewers everytime I broadcast. This means so much to me because I didn't think it would happen, even these numbers. I really can't explain what it's like to have people interested in you and what your doing, and for that number to continually grow. It's just amazing.
I'm looking at this opportunity to grow within the StarCraft community as my last big kick at the can to actually be someone worthwhile at what I'm good at. My free time is only going to dwindle as my kids get older, so I'm trying to make the most of it now. I also realize the game will not be around forever, so I know that time is limited. I hope to stay on the ride for as long as it lasts, so this experience will leave me fulfilled.
