We all Live In a Pokémon World--- Or at least I do.

Brittney is a graduate student in the Recreation Studies program. She is also a Group Exercise Graduate Assistant at Ping Center Fitness.

I was four years old the day I received my first Gameboy Color. It was the Clear Purple color way and this is also when I received my first game---Pokémon Yellow. Truth is my obsession with Pokémon happened months before I received this gift from my father. I remember watching cartoons one fruitful Saturday morning while eating my preferred breakfast, eggs and cheese with toast. Pokémon just happened to begin playing and not surprisingly I was obsessed. Soon after I persuaded my father to take me to the see Pokémon the First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back in 1999 where he so politely fell asleep in the theater. As you probably know at the time I could care less

because I was more than happy with my large popcorn, Icee, and limited edition Holographic Mew Card provided upon purchase of your movie ticket.

As time progressed I increasingly became more and more skilled at playing Pokémon. I received games and cards unlike any other. Gifts from people that saw my passion and knew that this is all I needed to make me happy. My best friend was a boy named Jonah, and even he fostered unimaginable skill in me---by beating me every chance he got. As you can imagine, my determination pushed me to training my Pokémon tirelessly. One after the other I trained my Pokémon to great evolutions and levels. I had to beat Jonah. I wanted to be a Pokémon Master. I wanted to be… Master Britt. All of this training, losing, winning, and the urge to be the very best that no one ever was, followed me for the rest of my life. Pokémon gave me much more than a past time; it fostered resilience, and leadership in me.

As a shy and introverted girl, playing Pokémon taught me great life lessons:

1. Take your time, the best Pokémon are the hardest to train: life isn’t about getting there quickly; it’s about being ready to take the next step. When you have Pokémon to look after, trying to get through every gym battle as fast as you can when your Pokémon aren’t ready, will only make them dislike you and harder for you to progress. Be patient and accept your speed of development, victory is just around the corner!

2. Losing is part of the game: reflect, assess, and go get: Its okay to make mistakes. Every time I’ve lost I gained more knowledge than when I didn’t fight for a win. Its also much more rewarding when you know that you’ve overcome a challenge than when a “W” its handed to you. If it’s worth it, it wont be easy. If its easy, it wont be worth it. Don’t be afraid to take the longer road for fear of failing. Some of the most successful people in the world failed more times than they find success. It took J.K Rowling 7 years and 12 rejections before a publisher picked up her work. Only for Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone to sell 450 million copies worldwide.

3. Make friends, do your research, ask for help: I can tell you when I got stuck during a tricky part of a game, I always turned to my friends. Sure my best friend Jonah was my rival, but that’s because he was a Master and I looked up to him! He was always willing to help me. Asking for help doesn’t mean that you don’t know, it means you want to know. It isn’t about what you know it’s about who you know that can propel you to your goals.

When people ask if my Pokémon obsession will ever be over I say… of course not. All the time, all nighters, and lessons I learned, will never allow me to let go of Pokémon.

I live in a Pokémon World.