Lim Yo-Hwan, known in professional gaming circles as BoxeR, is a professional StarCraft and StarCraft II player. Today, he has written an article for us detailing the life of a professional gamer.
What Am I Doing With My Life?
Written by Lim Yo-Hwan for Play4Real
I was never an exceptional teenager. Well, I was good at one thing, StarCraft. Of course, my parents never saw it as such. They thought it was a waste of time and that I would never amount to anything if I continued to play that game. Some might say this would be the right time to tell them off, to show them how successful I am. Well, my parents are still right.
When it was time to head to university, I was not accepted anywhere. My parents wanted me to become a doctor, but I was only focused on one thing: StarCraft. I was considered a lost cause and was forced to live on my own. After a few weeks of that, I was desperate for money. I turned to a StarCraft tournament and well, the rest is history. Now I have millions of fans. Sponsorships. Money. Others might be happy. They might feel accomplished. I don’t. I earned it all through this stupid game.
I don’t want to say I could have created world peace or solved world hunger. I just want to contribute something to this world that could be of some good. I can only think of the hours wasted from the people who play these games, to the people who watch these games, to those who practice these games and so the cycle continues. All those lives being wasted and it’s all because of me. Maybe I should have become that doctor and saved a few lives. I should have listened to my parents.
The professional gaming life is not glamorous. Once you’re beaten enough times, you fall to the wayside. I’ve seen friends give up and turn to drugs or alcohol. Some got embroiled in fixing scandals because they couldn’t keep up and they did not want to give up this lifestyle. Some people lose the use of their hands in later life because of the extreme training. What kind of life can a person live without the use of their hands?
What will I do when I’m older? I’ll have the money, but the fame will surely be gone. Some other fool will become champion of StarCraft IV and I will be sitting at home wondering where it all went wrong. I won’t feel like I’ve accomplished anything. I would have lived an empty life. But what other choice do I have? I have no other choice but to continue. I can’t return to school. I can’t get a normal job. I have no skills other than a high apm. And that skill can only be put to use in one way.
Please save me from this life.
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One thing you do never has to define you.
Wow. First time on this site and assuming I haven’t stumbled upon some weird falsely attributed post, this was surprising and pleasantly candid.
Like Kris says, though, a single thing doesn’t need to define the rest of your life. You may not be able to become a doctor, but there are still opportunities out there for doing something of use.
Good luck!
hah, guess I should have spent 5 minutes reading the rest of the site. You win, Internet.
The tears of unfathomable sadness, it quenches my thirst (laughs)