Day[9] Daily 100

After mentioning to a couple of people recently that Day9’s Daily #100 changed my life when I first watched it at university, it seems appropriate to write about it here too.

I always liked playing games on the computer, for as long as I can remember. In primary school I binged all the Lego games (Racers, Island, Loco, Chess, Rock Raiders, Alpha Team - the OG shit and not all this Star Wars/Batman nonsense!), and shortly afterwards I was waking up early to squeeze in an hour of Baldur’s Gate before school. In sixth form I discovered TF2 and my interest in games metamorphosized into a passion. I was pouring in hours, spending every spare second trying to improve, and loving every second. Naturally I was more interested in the game than my homework or anything else allegedly more ‘productive’, and quite understandably my parents wish I’d concentrate more of my energy on my studies. Eventually I internalised that playing video games was a waste of time, and was always a little ashamed of it. I felt as if I was truly accomplishing nothing with all those hours, not living up to my potential in other areas, and part of me hated myself precisely for doing what I loved. Not only did I love games, and that point in my life I was struggling a lot with the early throes of depression, and games were my one source of comfort - but that didn’t matter. It wasn’t a legitimate interest or hobby, even in my own mind. Until Day9.

Daily 100 took a huge weight off my shoulders. The way Sean articulates the emotions he felt, and the positive impact that StarCraft had on his life, finally gave me permission to love games as much as I knew I did. The guilt was gone, I loved DotA with my whole heart from that point on. My hours in the server were no longer wasted, but an important part of shaping who I am today. I cried a lot watching the video, and I defy anyone else to watch it and not shed a tear.

To this day, watching StarCraft gives me a feeling like no other, of pure joy and passion, in large part thanks to this one video. At some point I’m going to make my future wife watch it, because I don’t think she’ll understand part of how I feel without doing so.

Thank you, Day9.