The Sims and Reality

               Have you ever played The Sims*? Well if not, The Sims is a virtual simulator (hence the word Sims) that allows you to play as other people and control what they do in their lives.  The game is just like real life except with extra abilities, kind of like playing God. You can have people suffer, or you can give people wealth, or you can let them roam on their own in the world and just supervise what they do. “So?” You may be wondering, “How is this like a real life experience?” Let me show you how The Sims relates to a real life experience.

               When I was in the 5^th grade, my life was not the greatest. After moving from house to house every other year, I really wasn’t able to hold many friends. My mother and father were never married or even together, so they had split custody over me. And in 5^th grade, my father had passed away. I felt so angry at him at the time because before he passed he would be blowing me off saying that he would see me his next weekend, and then never did. The mourning stage of my loss didn’t even begin until a few years later after my mother had married for the first time and gave birth to my little brother. I was in the worst state of mind. Then, I discovered The Sims.

               The Sims was like my virtual getaway from real life. When I first started playing it, I fell in love immediately. I was so excited that I played it ever day just so I could be happy. But then I started to question things on life after a while. You see, my mother and I weren’t really the whole “Religious” type that was my father’s job. But after he passed my mother, step-father, and I started going to church. I started to piece some things together though with religion and The Sims. “What if God just sits up there on his computer and clicks on a family and says ‘Okay Dickinson family, I’m going to have your dog die and make Mrs. Dickinson unexpectingly pregnant with quadruplets. While on the other hand Mr. Gates, you become rich and famous with these cheat codes.’” Or maybe one day he gets really bored and mad because the people he allows to have free will completely mess things up and so he sends another sim over and starts a fight with them creating wars.

               The Sims changed my perspective on life as a whole, and I did not know what to do with myself anymore.

               I played The Sims day in and day out, only leaving my computer for food, bathroom breaks, sleep, and school. I was addicted adding new information to my theory of life. Everything had fit into place with the realism of the game and reality as we know it. Every day wondering if I was the only person who felt this strong on the fact or if I was just going insane? I still have yet to answer that question myself, but with seven years of my life playing this game behind me and many more to come ahead, I have the experience and knowledge that could prove things in my head, but not to others.

~10/6/11~