Part 2: Everything During

Continuing from the previous post, I was in my freshman year of high school when I came to the realization and knowledge that I was going to put my life on hold until I could actually be who I wanted to be.  I decided that I'd try to enjoy myself and see where it led.  If I were going to make it through, I'd have to find ways to amuse myself.  After a few more years of trying to fit in with the same group of friends I had forever, I gave up and started hanging out with others who were more into video games and music.  I was only about a million times happier!

 I was also what we called at my school, a bandie.  I played drums starting in the 5th grade, all through Junior High, finishing on snare drum my senior year.  In 5th and 6th grade, I was the best drummer.  Even in junior high I was in the top 3.  Once I hit high school though, it was very different.  I was still good, and could have learned the rhythms, but drummers don't play from sheet music.  You memorize everything.  The problem is, none of the upperclassmen wanted to teach me how to play.  Since I wasn't cool, there was no chance of learning from them unless they were forced to do so.  The other people who played drum were not bad people I'm sure, they were just dicks.  They could play really well, but they just did everything they could to make me feel like I was less of a person than them.    I wouldn't finally enjoy myself in band until my junior year.

Freshman year, I met the best friend that I have ever had.  We both were kind of in the same boat, and we still have a great time today when we hang out.  Usually after a football game or pep band, she'd pick us up and we'd all hang out over at her place.  Our first time over, we played Final Fantasy VII.  It was the first time I'd ever touched the game and I never looked back after.  It was so much of what I wanted, and there was Aerith.  Later that same year, Final Fantasy VIII came out, and I found one Sir Laguna Loire, with whom I fell madly, yet secretly, in love.  That's pretty much when I knew there was no going back to girls.

She also started my interest in all things anime and manga.  Although I had watched Sailor Moon and Megaman growing up, I had never really known much about the world of anime and manga.  I had watched a few episodes of Ronin Warriors too, but never understood it of course.  Finally, it all came together when I saw Record of Lodoss War.  Well, to be more specific, after I saw Karla and especially Orson.  I started watching lots of series through another mutual friend who had a higher speed connection, and downloaded lots and lots of series for us.  She and I also stood in line from 5:30 until midnight waiting for the release of the PS2.  We clutched them in our arms after we paid and ran out like nutcases.

My best friend also inspired me to start writing my own series.  If she and her boyfriend hadn't been as big of fans of Dungeons and Dragons, and working on their own stories, I never would have gotten into it as much.  Of course, part of that had to do with playing some really fun games with awesomely bad story lines.  So the more I thought about it, I began writing. This was my sophomore year of high school.  Without her, I don't think I would have made it through high school.

Meanwhile, school became more and more unpleasant.  My best friend graduated, and went to the local college.  We'd still hang out, but it meant I would only see her the weekends from then on.  If I could have just done the work and not had to deal with all of the morons, I would have been more than happy.  My sophomore year of high school was a ridiculous farce as to what education should have been.  That whole year of school was enough to make me want to have taken my GED, and left early.  Of course, my parents had no idea what was going on, and just kept telling me the same thing; just finish up at your high school and then you can get on with your life.