More accurately, “at this point in my life it often feels like I am trapped in a MMO.” I’ve gotten the the point where I’m past all of the early levels, so no more easy battles. At the same time, I’m not yet at the high levels, where you get to experience all of the fun endgame content. No, I’m somewhere in the middle, just about to reach “level” 22, grinding away to reach the next one. The battles are at the upper limit of my skill training and the rewards won’t become apparent for another ten years…I mean levels. The kicker? There’s no choice but to play, and they charge you for it.
It’s very easy to feel lost, I think, when at this phase of my life I still have so much further to go before I can earn enough for Rachel to be able to finish her education, to live less hand-to-mouth, or to stop graduating from a school just in time to apply to the next. It’s like when you’re driving through the Ft. McHenry tunnel or across the Bay Bridge and the GPS screen shows your dot in the middle of a blue ocean, no land in sight. Both the origin and the termination are shrouded in a fine mist that dampens the face and gives life to shadows.
The flip side of all of this is somewhat analogous why people pay to play MMOs in the first place: it’s a fun thing to do with your friends. You could do some of the same stuff in a single-player game but it’s more fun when you are able to share that experience with your friends. Simply having a good friend around can transform the mundane into a memorable experience.
Ultimately, I think that’s how it has to be with “life leveling”: It can’t be about rushing to the endgame, or you’ll constantly be straining at the bit wishing things would move faster. It actually is about the grinding, the banal tasks, the routine—not because there is anything inherently special about them, but because they comprise a medium from which nonpareils are birthed.
One response to “Life is an MMO”
I don’t know if you can compare your age to levels. There are some people that can start a new character and hit the level cap in a week and others that take years to do it. I think your ‘level’ is more defined by your knowledge and, dare I say it, experiences. So that person that skipped two grades in high school and graduated college at 19 may be younger, but they’re a higher level. (They also likely have a lower charisma and haven’t put as many points into the socializing skills.) Anyway, it’s an interesting analogy all told, I guess that means you’re a healer class. 😛