As a
child, Ethan struggled with his mother’s illness and the social aspects of
school. He felt like he didn’t fit into typical team or school
activities, but he found his niche with a group of other boys like himself, and
together, they lost themselves in the world of Dungeons and Dragons. This
outlet gave Ethan a sense of belonging and gave him chances for adventure and
heroism. Ethan and his friends dove into this world completely. While the
scenarios were far-fetched, the extensive rules and guidelines provided a sense
of stability in a somewhat turbulent home-life. During his high school
years, Ethan and his friends mastered the rules of this rare area of their life
where they felt completely at home.
After
high school, Ethan left these fantasy worlds behind. Slowly, Ethan’s old
D&D gang dispersed, and Ethan focused on having a normal college
experience. Although his passion for medieval fantasy worlds never really left
him, he pushed that side of himself away for many years. When Ethan was
thirty-one, his mother passed away, nineteen years after her aneurysm. Shortly
thereafter, Ethan found himself sucked back into the realm of fantasy with the
emergence of the Lord of the Rings movies. This new, mainstream side to
alternate worlds puzzled Ethan and made him curious to explore these places
again. Ethan found an old cooler in his parents’ basement with his old
D&D gear, and it was not long before Ethan was once again plunging, sword
raised, into a new adventure.
Does everyone
crave a form of escapism from there everyday troubles? What forms of escapism
do people partake in besides fantasy games?
Ethan’s blue
cooler, represents a part of his childhood that he has tucked away but is now
revisiting. Do we all have our own blue
cooler?
By
Frances Brumley
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