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I relate to u/pitched on getting sucked into Diablo 2 and missing out on other experiences. I’m still growing up emotionally, and back then I was basically a child, like Tom Hanks in the movie “Big”, and also in graduate school. I missed out on: making more/closer friends, making more connections with people (networking towards career options, etc), physical exercise (I was active but needed more training for my core; this is clear now as I age), emotional maturity, reading books (always been a reader thanks to my parents reading to me a lot, but Diablo 2 and World of Warcraft put a big dent in time spent learning from authors), practicing music (“It’s Never Too Late”, book by John Holt on learning cello later in life), practicing other art, writing letters to friends and family, … the list goes on, and those are the main ones off the top of my head. I tend not to stray into regret about the time I sunk into these games, and instead to reevaluate how I spend my time and attention in the present moment.
In looking back, it seems I was hiding from emotions, from unresolved adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and those game pass-times made it easier to avoid facing my fears (or failure, of being vulnerable, and more I may not yet be aware of). I graduated largely thanks to a couple caring friends who saw my potential and invested in me.
I try to be open enough these days to be helpful to others with whom my life experience resonates, so that they might be more-aware of opportunities as they arise, and more-able to switch gears and go.