Video Games

I think I was in the first grade when I got the Original Nintendo. I remember playing Super Mario brothers. At the time, it was the second best thing in life, next to recess. Pretty much every kid had one, no matter who's house you were at, there it was. Nintendo was fun and interactive and that's all you need when you are a kid.
I didn't play Atari till I was in 4th grade. I used to play it at a friends and laugh at how funny the graphics were. Around this time I was also introduced to games like Oregon Trail and Number Munchers. These games were on the computers at school. I would "reck shop" at Oregon Trail, the trick was to kill as many animals as you could. They made school go by faster.
By 7th grade my video game usage had gone down quite a bit. The Super Nintendo was out and I didn't have one. Video games didn't disappear completely though. I would go over friends and play hours of NHLPA on Sega Genesis. During Middle school I played a little more computer video games and a little more sports. This is also the time in my life where the most intriguing thing in life changed from ninjas to girls. So that ate up a bit of my attention too.
High School was about the first time I started busting out the Old Nintendo. I'm not quite sure when exactly. It was fun to play games that you used to play when you were younger. The games were simpler and you were older and beating them was a lot easier. I still bust out the old Nintendo every so often. I play it a lot when I go back home (VA) during Christmas break. The gray box is really old and often it makes me want to kick it, but I still manage to get a little time playing Dr. Mario and Techmo Superbowl.
My freshman year of college, two games dominated my time, and suspect everyone else's; James Bond and Zelda (for N64). I got pretty good at James Bond and I am pretty sure that I can beat almost anyone in class if I got in a little practice. Right now, I've noticed most of my friends playing a lot of NFL2K1 or NBA2K1 on DreamCast or PS2. These days, I play a lot of Worms (on DreamCast) but that's about it. I'm waiting for the game cube to come. Then I will probably put a lot more time into playing videogames.
Videogames are good for relaxing, and just chilling, especially during the school week. I guess I never realized how much video games play a part in my life. I think most people expected our generation to out grow video games as we got older, but that never happened. It is now a shared part of culture. Adds on TV often show males ages 20-30 playing video games. Companies know that we are still playing video games and now we have more money to spend on them. Video games are a generational past time. Anything that gives you a smile has importance, especially video games.