Time to say GOODBYE!

World of Warcraft was released in November of 2004; I had played part of the beta because the guy I was dating at the time had access to it. I figured since he was so into gaming, if I liked this game I would buy it and we could play together giving us something else to do and another different way to 'spend' time together. I got the game when it was released in 2004 and have played it religiously for the past 2.5 years (almost 3!!). Today is the day that I cancel my account for the last time never to reactivate it again; I have cancelled it twice in the past 2 months only to be convinced by some gaming friends to reactivate it...NOT THIS TIME!!!

It sounds really cheesy when you think of someone spending all their hours of the day locked away in their bedroom (or where ever your PC is located), pounding mercilessly at the keyboard, with a headset with mic attached glued to your head at all times. But the reality of the matter is this: gaming addiction is no different than any other addiction and is just as hard to break. Do I think I sound weird when I say that I had a gaming addiction to WoW? Of course I do, but the reality was that I did...and I had for the 2.5 years, although the time spent in the game had been drastically reduced at the beginning of 2007. I, like most WoW players, spent all my free time on the PC, raiding "hardcore" until 3-4am sometimes (beginning around 7-8pm EST). I put off spending time with my family (don't really have any friends to put off, and no that wasn't a result of the game) and decided to skip out on many activities, along with failing out of my first semester of college because I felt obligated to be there for a raid and not to let my guild down.

Cheesy, stupid, dumb, illogical I know what it sounds like especially if you've never played a video game as such but the truth is there are millions of players who are in the exact situation I was. I cannot hate the game completely because I met some amazing online friends via the game along with my current boyfriend, so for that I am thankful. However, after 2.5 years of gaming continuously only to lose interest in it in the last couple of months per drama filled environment and the release of The Burning Cursade expansion it is time to hang up my hat and never look back. :)