I’m a simple 22 year-old person with likes and dislikes. In this way I am very similar to a normal hominid. And, in other ways I am also like a regular human. I have a past, a present and the other one that comes after.

The story of my past and childhood was defined by a nomadic sense of adventure and a rich travel culture. It was a story that took me from the urban shores of lake Michican in Chicago to the great plains of the African Serrengeti. Before reaching the age of 18 I had lived across 4 continents, visited over 20 countries and become fluent in 6 different languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German. And, despite the variability of my early years I managed to have a satisfactory childhood and excitingly I turned out a satisfactory person myself (a fact I am immensely proud of).

And it was on this quest to the summit of mediocrity that I unearthed a burning passion for videogames. Specifically, it was in the year 2009. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 had just hit the shelves and grown men were camped outside stores salivating at the thought of holding that iconic game-box in their hands. Naturally, every kid on the block was also dragging their unwitting parents to the mall in a ploy to buy the game.

In an act of defiance and pragmatism I stayed home, resisting the urge to throw away my last three allowances to the cause. In part, because I knew better and I had planned to make sensible investments and grow my fiscal portfolio. But then also in a much more realistic sense it was because my mom would never allow it. See I grew up with a mother who thought that the PEGI rating on the game’s cover wasn’t a suggestion but a law that could be violently enforced by the police. So she never took any risks and I was stuck playing LEGO Batman for a sad number of years.?

Fortunately, much like every other kid with overbearing parents I had an ace in the hole. This particular ace was named Rami, he lived 3 houses down the street, and happened to be my brother’s friend. So, I waited, and at the first sign of parental oversight I rushed over to Rami’s house and watched him and my brother shoot people’s heads off for hours. I didn’t touch the controller once that day and yet my life was changed. Up until then I had always found videogames to be a fun distraction. However, that day something happened that I can’t quite put into words and it instilled in me a burning passion for the world of gaming.?

Fast forward 14 years to the present day and I’ve cultivated my writing skills and learned to marry my interests by working as a gaming journalist here at Game Champions. This was and still is a perfect way to talk about the things I’ve always loved and share my thoughts with a wider audience. Additionally, I’ve had the good fortune to be allowed to write about my second love: football.?

Football is another thing that has dominated my life. Ever since I first learned to run it seems like I was always running behind a football. Whether that was just kicking it around on the beach, playing on the pitch for my local team or running to catch a match at the nearest sports bar. Football was always in my life. And it wasn’t until I began supporting the Arsenal that I discovered the negative impacts of investing energy into the game. It was in those dark and turbulent Mustafi years that I learned a thing or two about emotional suffering and understood the importance of restraint. Nowadays, those dark times are a distant memory and much like the current Gunners, I’m flying high and over-performing.?

And finally when it comes to the future well I don’t know what’s next for me. I don’t have a crystal ball and I’m frankly confused by the concept as a whole. What I can say is that I look to the promises of the future with great excitement. The promise of cold beer, heart-stopping football matches and the next Grand Theft Auto. In the end, what really matters is the NOW and that’s why I’ll leave you with this quote from one of the real gs of my childhood:

“Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.” – Master Oogway, Kung Fu Panda