Gamer, wife, mom and now guest writer Bryleigh – better known as FireflyZA – talks about her love for gaming, her family and her extended gaming family. I’m sure we all know exactly how she feels when we aren’t high on testosterone and rage…
It’s a rainy Saturday afternoon and I am sitting in the lounge watching my son (12) and my husband play Black Ops 2 together. Seeing the reaction on my son’s face, the way he holds the controller, the way he moves his hands to move left and right, the way he gets upset – just reminds me of how alike we are and this put a smile on my face. My son has only just starting playing Black Ops 2. Being a gamer, you probably think this is weird, but I have never allowed him to play games of this type because I know how obnoxious some kids that play online can be, and I don’t want my kid to be like that. Now that he is almost 13 I have allowed him to start playing games that he can get used to, and hopefully one day soon he will be good enough to start playing online with me.
Watching the two of them gaming I realise how far I have come as a gamer. When I first met my husband back in 2004, I was the furthest thing away from a gamer as you could get. I was one of those arrogant people that could never understand how someone could sit for hours playing a stupid video game – boy, how things have changed!
I remember the first time I picked up the Xbox controller and tried to play Gears of War with my husband. It was a very sad day. I couldn’t wrap my head around the dual analogue sticks. I remember getting stuck in a corner, with a Berserker chasing us down and all Aaron said was: “babe, you will get used to the controller but I don’t think it will be today”. I didn’t dare try play again until I decided that I too wanted to kill guys in Call of Duty and I haven’t looked back ever since.
Being the gamer that I am today hasn’t been an easy road, but it is one that I look back on with great memories. Being a “chick” gamer in a male dominant gaming community has had its ups and its downs and most of these come from playing online. It still amazes me – in this day and age – how threatened guys are by a female gamer. This type of reaction would usually break down a person, but I work really hard at being good at gaming, being a nice person in the gaming community and being friendly to everyone. The “Circle of Gaming” has taught me new things about myself and watching my husband show my son the ropes, just as he did with me is such an awesome sight.
Through gaming, I have met the most amazing people that have touched my life in so many ways. People that I can truly say are friends. People who would probably bail me out of jail if I ever raged and threw my controller at someone. Gaming has brought my husband and I so much closer and my idea of a perfect evening is sitting playing co-op games with my husband.
Looking back at how far I have come as a gamer, I am so thankful for all the people that it has brought into my life, and all the amazing challenges I have been faced with. Seeing the two men in my life enjoying an afternoon of gaming, makes me realise just how extremely lucky I am and this just gives me such great inspiration to be a better person and hopefully touch someone else’s life, the way mine has been touched.
Looking ahead at what gaming has in store for me and my family, all I can say is that I am excited. 2013 has so many great games coming out, and I know that this will be many hours of talking about games as well as playing games and I cannot wait. As my Xbox Bio states: Yes – I’m a girl….. I’m a Gamer In Real Life and I am proud of it.
You can follow Bryleigh on Twitter or even support the website she and husband Aaron run: The Deal Breaker | Twitter
