...So this one I really do have a valid excuse for. My scanner is broken... So rather than throwing my printer out of the window (Which would bring me great joy, let me tell you), I'm just going to list it out, through the magic of text.
The
benefits of being a writer, eh?
So... How has my life really affected me...? What skills have I learned, and at what time? Let's go way, way back...
1992-1998 (Young Age)
Charisma
It's kind of depressing in a way, but from a very young age, I was a gamer. You see, my parents owned a small shop in
Torquay called "The House of Fun"... An electronics hobby store... More commonly known as a
game store. There's an old picture my parents are fond of painting for me... A chubby little baby, gurgling happily on a counter and charming customers into visiting more often. I get the feeling it's mostly BS, but still... It's a fun thought. Does this count as Charisma, I wonder?
Keyboard/Computer Operation
My duties in the House of Fun back in the day were quite simple later on... I played games. Lemmings, Top Gear 2, Cannon Fodder... old, beloved games that I've deluded myself into thinking gave me valid skills... Truth be told, this early exposure to technology did very little but put me in the
previous generation of technology users... On par with my parents. How many other 18 year
olds can
reminisce about playing the original Lemmings...? (And beating a few Chaotic levels)
1999-2003
Aah, the
Internet before
YouTube... I too remember the
GIF sites that we once thought looked so professional... One day, we'll probably feel the same way about blog sites, I fear.
Leadership (Basic)
Now this skill originated from my interactions with my childhood friends, I think... Though it sounds a little arrogant when put so bluntly, I was the leader... I got us into trouble, took us exploring... and more often than not, took the majority of the
shi- ...crap for what we got up to. Fun times, and good memories... This was about the last of them, to be fair, because...
Adapting
...Eventually, we moved... and things took a turn for the worse. I've always had a certain difficulty fitting in with other children... At a young age... my various
skillsets put me apart from others of my age... Both ahead in certain types, and behind in others... I will freely admit that my social skills never were, and still aren't that good... Not when attempting to communicate with peers... But this really became obvious when my family moved from 'Sunny'
Torquay to 'Lovely' Derby. Let's just say that the local children were known for carrying knives, and other wonderful behaviors similar. Needless to say, I had to adapt...
2004-2007
Paranoia
This got much worse when my parents... thinking of me, moved us back down to Devon again... Into an amazingly friendly little council estate in Plymouth called "
Swilly", or "North Prospect". To me, it seemed more appropriate to call it "Nova
Prospekt", after the anti-social
dystopian prison complex from the Half Life series. Here... We legitimately feared for our lives. I was mugged several times, my toys... my skateboard, footballs and similar, were
regularly stolen and openly used by others... And someone burnt our shed down. It may not be a valid skill, but this time shaped me in both positive and negative ways...
Courage
After Nova
Prospekt, I'm not really afraid anymore... After a neighbor brags about stealing your sledgehammer and keeping it beside their bed... you stop worrying about the small things. Though it HAS left a mark, it also allows me to do things that might be
daunting or terrifying to others... From stuff in my past, such as facing exams with no
anxiety... to more recent examples, such as standing in front of my design peers, and delivering a presentation with very little
preparation time, and only one colleague.
2004-2008
Leadership (Advanced)
This period was where my gaming
habit became common to the point of obsession... Though I stayed away from
MMOs for the most part, to avoid addiction, my natural leadership skills, developed years prior in
Torquay, found an outlet in strategic FPS... First Person Shooters. Suddenly, I found myself organising and leading public players in a gaming
environment... and while there were some who refused to co-operate, for the most part... this has always been
beneficial to my team... Who said gamers can't work together?
On an interesting
side note, I have competed
comparatively with various teams, and have two accomplishments I'm
particularly proud of...
-Taking the Empires Debut
Persistent League title. 1st place, with roughly three quarters of a full team. It was difficult, but we managed it, despite being the least-respected team.
-I current lead an
undefeated BC2 (Bad Company 2) Squad Rush team... Though recently, certain events have forced us to postpone our activities (University, Work, etc...)
2009-2010
IndependenceFor the first time in... forever, I'm living alone... Sure, I'm still in constant contact with my parents, but... Daily Upkeep is now my responsibility. I'm still not actually sure I actually HAVE this skill so far... but I'm trying.
So there you have it. My life skills, all summed up in one giant blog post... Of course, if a line is preferable, I'd be willing to knock one up in Fireworks... Truth be told, I really needed to write this out... It's helped, actually...
So... Thanks for the task, I guess.
-D_K
