I always thought college would be a turning point in my life.I was going to get my act together. I was going to do "real" scholarly work.I had the typical ideas and aspirations of many bright-eyed incoming first-years, dreams of becoming a great student who would always do well and never have to worry themselves over grades. Then I got to college and realized something: I really don't like doing work. And that was it.I had reached a turning point in my life, albeit only slightly different from the path I had planned.
I mean honestly, who really likes to study and write papers when there are endless other opportunities for us young adults throughout our college years?I, personally, would want to be doing something else or anything else for that matter.
The guys I lived with this past year, myself included, epitomize the procrastination point I am attempting to demonstrate. We never ceased creating unique ways of putting off that 8-page religion paper for a few more minutes or studying for the statistics exam we had looming over our heads. Who could forget "hall sports," or all the dumb games we made up ourselves? I remember one quite vividly: we sat around in our wrinkled shorts and stained shirts, placing bets on who could bounce a quarter off the wall while making it land the closest to it.
I mean we could have done something more productive to procrastinate, like work out or clean our filthy clothes for example, but that would take away from the true essence of laziness for which we strived. We'd do anything, as simple minded as throwing NERF balls to see who could knock down the exit sign (sorry Housing Division) to performing our own "Jackass"-style stunts. I have the scars to prove it. There was also the occasional drunken wrestling match, truly exhilarating and hilarious for all involved. But, despite the fun we had doing everything I've mentioned, no tool of procrastination could ever compare to video games.
Maybe it's just a guy thing, or a dorm thing, but video games saved us a lot of time from doing a lot of boring schoolwork. It didn't matter what kind of system we had, just so long as we had something. I've found though, that University students seem to favor Sony's Playstation 2, but I do not discriminate. I like to spread the love. Old school 8-bit Nintendo is a personal heart warmer. I'll never forget the first time I played "Duck Hunt" with that little gray gun. I must have been six or seven years old, and back in the day, that "Super Mario Brothers/Duck Hunt" combination game that came with the NES was the bomb. The graphics were awesome; especially that little hunting dog that picked up the ducks after you shot them. Over a decade later, those games are still high on my list of favorites.
For those of you who did not keep your old system in thebasement gathering dust over the years, as did my roommate Adam, or if you just got sick of blowing in the end of the games to make them work, you can download all the old NES games online for endless procrastination hours.
But, don't think that NES is the only old-school system still used. You'd be wrong by a long shot. It never ceased to amaze me the different systems I'd see hooked up when I went into people's rooms. 3DO, Atari, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Sega 32-X, Sega Saturn, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64 or the original Playstation--the list goes on and on. Any kind of gaming system imaginable can be found somewhere on Grounds.
The newer systems like Sony's Playstation 2, Microsoft's X-Box, and Nintendo's GameCube have been the most amazing time-wasting tools for college guys. You get one system that allows for great games, while at the same time, doubles as a DVD player, getting two for the price of one--absolutely brilliant.
So now, you may be wondering just how much of college students' lives are consumed by video games. Let me give you the perfect example. I walked into a good friend's suite, saw four dudes playing "Britney's Dance Beat" with the dance floor pad and everything, and not one of them seemed ashamed.The levels to which students will stoop to avoid working are, at times, downright scary.
But more normal events were the epic battles in sports games such as "NCAA Football 2003." UVA vs. Tech was always a good match-up but the video game makers gave the Hoos no love. Schaub and company stunk it up on the game pretty regularly. The original "NBA Street" provided the most jaw-dropping, smack talking fun of all games. If your boy's "Yeti" rejected your "Yeti", you were done for. But it really didn't matter what game it was; all that was important was that it stopped our productivity.
So, thank you Sony. Thank you Nintendo. Thank you Microsoft. You guys are truly lifesavers. Instead of wasting my time actually learning, I've taken great steps towards improving my life because of your brilliant gaming systems. No one wants to actually learn; we prefer stimulating our minds through the realistic life situations found in "Goldeneye" or "Vice City." It is because of you we can have superior Homer Simpson--sized keg--guts because why waste time lifting and trying to hone our basketball skills when we can just win the Finals in "NBA Live '03"? It's so much more gratifying.
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