Video games are like super glue in my family– they help us to connect.
When my brothers are in town for holidays, right after the family dinner we head straight for the tv room and pick out a video game. We all grab our favorite spot on the couches and grab a controller.
Usually, we’ll cheat and distract each other, laugh at stupid jokes, and eat until we fall asleep. But once, ten minutes into playing Tekken Tag, my brother started talking to me about how I was shaping into a beautiful young woman, and he didn’t want guys taking advantage of me. Even though our eyes were on the game, we were engaged in our conversation.
If we had had this same chat in a more formal setting, we wouldn’t have been able to keep a straight face. But playing video games made us comfortable, so his advice stayed with me.
My dad and I can’t even talk about boys because his inappropriate jokes making me cry tears of laughter, so this talk with my brother was important.
What can I say? I have to demolish my brother on Mortal Kombat 9 to get the best advice.