School used to merely be a hobby and Pokémon a lifestyle. I’d spend hours upon hours making teams, collecting new Pokémon, battling trainers over and over to evolve Pokémon or get them to learn a super awesome attack.

   I got my very first Pokémon game from my neighbor, Jack. He’d often come over to hang out and help me with my math  homework. One fateful day he brought his Gameboy.

   My mind was blown. The only gaming device I had was a beat up Playstation, so all the sounds and colors coming from his Pokémon Silver game on the box’s tiny screen was incredible.

   Instantly, I was hooked and all I wanted to do for the rest of my life was to capture, collect and evolve monsters that can shoot lightning bolts and spit giant flames from their mouths, the graphics didn’t even matter.

   Jack eventually let me keep the game after I got my own Gameboy and I would rush from school everyday just to play it. I would apply things I learned from Pokémon to school, like how evolution ties in with the metamorphosis of insects or knowing what the word, “embargo” meant since I’d seen it in the games.

   To this day I still love playing Pokémon. I have at least two other games where I’ve logged over 900 hours on each. I’ve replayed my Pokémon Diamond game at least six times and I’ve also completed the Pokedex, which means I’ve captured over 700 different Pokémon in existence.

   I’m grateful for knowing Jack and that he introduced me to a world that’s been a huge part of my life and even though I still enjoy the games, they’ve slowly become more of a hobby for me. There are more important things like school work, friends, driving and running that take up my time.

   I think it’s always great to enjoy things from the past, but as I’m turning sixteen soon, I’ve realized it’s also important to enjoy the opportunities I have now as a high school student and carry them with me in the future.