WoW. I Never Thought I'd Do This

I'm going to start playing World of Warcraft.

Now before you either A) flip out with excitement or B) scrunch up your nose and judge, let me explain!

When I got accepted to attend Loyola, they offered to actually make it possible for me to attend by granting me an assistantship. Part of this deal is that in exchange for tuition, I have to hand over my soul devote 15-20 hours a week to working with a professor in the department on his/her research, as well as fulfill any other small tasks he/she may require such as grading papers, filling in for a class, etc. This year I got paired with Dr. Talmadge Wright, a very smart and interesting man who studies the video game world, specifically targeting the individuals who play video games. He is concerned with how players interact.

Contrary to popular beliefs about players being social outcasts or future murderers and rapists, studies have shown that video gamers are much more likely to be social than people who do NOT play video games. Dr. Wright looks at how people interact within games such as Counterstrike, or, more recently, World of Warcraft. He is interested in how players communicate when conflict arises, and how they deal with that conflict, whether it is conflict in the way the game is played, or conflict that arises from conversation. From a sociological standpoint, it's REALLY freakin' interesting.

Part of my job as his student-in-training is to familiarize myself with his work. The first step: get familiar with the game being studied.

Now, as excited as I am about learning more about this study and these ideas of interaction, my biggest joy in this somewhat unexpected duty has to do more with my siblings. I know. I'm a middle child, it always comes back to this.

My brother and sister have both been playing WoW for at least 2 years. It's probably closer to, like, 6, but I haven't kept track. They are both very smart and very good strategists, and they are both very good at this game. Hopefully they also have a talent for teaching, because I feel like I'm going to need Hooked on WoW to even begin to understand how to play.

Living away from home has brought a few interesting things to the table when it comes to my siblings. On the one hand, I don't see them nearly as much as I'd like to, and we don't have the chance to interact as much. In some ways, we have drifted apart when it comes to our daily lives and personalities. On the other hand, we're freakishly linked, and the distance has made the time we do have together even more enjoyable. We don't fight nearly as much as we used to (though we have our moments) and details about our lives that would have seemed mundane and boring before are now welcomed windows into each others' worlds.

The thing I'm most excited about when it comes to playing WoW is having a new way to share myself and get to know my brother and sister. It's a new way to stay in touch, a new way to interact, and we are switching roles-- my younger sister will be showing me the ropes, alongside my older brother whose purpose now is not so much to tease me (although I'm sure he will) but to help me. It's going to be fun to get to see different sides of them.

Growing up I always loved having a brother and sister. I didn't show it well at all. I often pretended it was something I disliked. But I can't even imagine how boring my life would be if they weren't there, and I'm thrilled to get to know them better.

So! It's time for me to start Googling "World of Warcraft" and see just what kind of mess new adventure I've gotten myself into...