I miss video games. It was a time waster as my mom called it but I definitely had some great times playing even if I was just playing by myself. They were my home away from home. The friends I never had. The family I never had. The lovers I never had. Whatever I was missing. The sounds, the colors, the catchy music that got stuck in my head even when I wasn't playing. The controller's vibration is warning me about something bad that is about to happen. There have been plenty of times that I had to play the same levels or do the same tasks over and over again because I am not great but I don't give up. I might just stop and continue the next day if it's too much of a time-waster on one spot.

The closest thing I have ever been to a fight is probably those shooter games. I did not really enjoy them much. In a desert or a city. The sounds were amazing. Explosions everywhere. The bullets whizzing by. The helicopter flying somewhere above. 

When we played together the mode was always hard or expert. Whatever was the most difficult not including survival. One life is no fun. Who wants to die, lose everything, and begin again like all that work was for nothing. I did not mind it when it came to multiplayer and I was playing with Dan. We usually were killing some zombies together. The last game tried to be dark and spooky at some moments and an action-packed movie at most moments. It was the most nerve-wracking when we had to run away from the enemy instead of the usual stay and fight everything. And if it were around six, we would pause so that Dan could make dinner. I would sneak into the kitchen and grab a bite of whatever he was cutting up or a grape or two from the kitchen table while he chopped up the vegetables on the counter. Cherry would sit with me on the couch until the food started to cook. Cherry runs into the kitchen to get something to eat. 

Then she would be next to Dan hoping something would fall from the stove.

I am not a fighter. When the going gets tough I switch it to an easier mode.

By Cristina Collazo