Small Escapes From Reality

In these times I am walking into, of strife, of trouble, of anger, of hatred, of confusion, of the unknown, etc., it is nice to have something I can go to to just escape the reality of my life and of the world for a few moments. To give me a respite so as to let my mind wander and explore the possibilities and the true extent of imagination, of awe, of wonder.

To even go back years into my childhood and re-live the excitement and wonders of nostalgic things and to just pretend like I am a kid again, with not a care in the world. Sure I am relatively still a kid. I do childish things, I react immaturely at times, and I am only 20 years old, which isn't really that old and not really that much of an adult. 2 years of adulthood according to the law, in which I am no longer a minor at 18.

One of my recent escapes has brought me back to when I used to play Club Penguin. Took me back at least 10 years because I remember playing the game when I was 10. Literally half a lifetime ago for me. While the official game has long since been shut down since spring of 2017, there is an unofficial reboot of the game, almost exactly as it had been. I'm unsure if they had made any changes to the game since I stopped playing the game in general several years ago, plus I have no idea how long Club Penguin Rewritten has been around and where they started as well as how far they have gotten.

What I do know is that back when I was in 4th grade (2008-2009), they had come out with a new mini-game feature: Card-Jitsu. They even made collectible trading cards (of which I am now curious as to where my binder with the card protectors went. Those cards are probably pretty valuable now and I just want to look at them too). I remember learning the mechanics of the game. For those who are unaware, it's basically like the card game "War", mixed in with rock-paper-scissors mechanics, as well as match-3 ideas to win. I remember climbing from no belt, to white, yellow, orange, green, blue, red, purple, brown, and black belts. I remember challenging the "Sensei" for the first time and losing because of no strategy nor tactic on my end. I remember becoming a Card-Jitsu ninja.

Thanks to Club Penguin Rewritten, I was able to re-live that climb from nothingness to now Card-Jistu ninja once again. I had played a couple hours a day between Sunday, April 12th, and today, Tuesday, April 14th. It was fun to relive my past in a way. With a new recognition and admiration for the game, with the nostalgic feel of the game. With even the mild sense of accomplishment of achieving my Card-Jitsu black belt once again and becoming a ninja on the first try after challenging the "Sensei" once again.

All in all, it feels so nice to just have a chance to escape everything. To calm down and let the anger steam off. To boil off any hard feelings I have created in my subconscious, and to just relax. Maybe this is indeed what I truly needed: to space away from people and rediscover myself. To remember my childhood, who I was, who I became, and where I can go from here.

Wow this got so much deeper than I had intended. And it was all about a childhood browser game.