Oh, having fun-I’m really abysmal at it. Not for a lack of trying, but because of a terribly ruthless inner critic that tells me that having fun is unproductive. Do you ever feel that way? I think she kicked in right around when I started college; I would like to blame structured education for the immense pressure that I put on myself, because that would mean once I graduate (in 161 days, but whose counting?), that pressure would disappear and I would be free to just be me. However, I’m very afraid it won’t just magically go away once I have a degree, but that the works based mindset will continue into my professional life. It’s pretty hard to see yourself as anything else but a number when all your worth is based on how you perform in school from age 5-22. It is one of my biggest fears stepping into this new season of not being a student anymore.
However, I got a quick break from my Atlas-heavy load on Thursday and Friday nights this past weekend. After work on Thursday, my babysitting gig got cancelled, and I was left with a decision (I should also mention I’ve been terribly indecisive these past few weeks, a trait unlike me). I could either go to a double class at the dojo, or hang out with my friend Cristin. I’ve been pretty good this semester at going to the dojo at least once a week, and that double class on Thursdays is just icing on the cake after doing one on Monday nights as well. Plus, I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, so an intense workout with Renshi John followed by God knows what else in the second class was not seeming so appealing. So I decided to hang out with my girl Cristin, and after grabbing dinner from the crack, I headed up to her room. While we ate she relayed to me one of the funniest medical misfortunes that I have ever hear that happened to her a while ago, and I tell you, tears were streaming down my face from laughing so hard. I won’t tell you what it was, but here’s a picture of her reenacting it.
After I collected myself, we watched Pixar shorts, Encore (an absolutely fantastic show about reuniting high school theater productions and putting on the show again with the cast 30 years later-I highly recommend it), and 10 Things I Hate About You all on Disney+. It was such fun having down time and Cristin and I haven’t hung out in a very long time.
So what I did on Friday night requires a little backstory, and is really nerdy, so take off your judging hats. Last year in the second semester, Jake and I were recalling how unoriginal the new Pokemon designs are. So after about a month, we had a whole game, generation designs in the works, and a possible play through on our hands. So that May we did it, and it was an absolute riot. And not to mention, Jake, all on his own-
- Designed, illustrated, and implemented all the new Pokemon
- Came up with a plot for the game
- Did stat and math calculations, and other things in real time so we could actually battle and stuff like that
We helped him design some of the Pokemon, but 99% of the credit goes to him for bringing them to life. So we decided to do a second generation this year. Kate so graciously fed us dinner, and we set up shop next to her TV ready to go. Our Pokedex is now up to 90-something completely original Pokemon. I designed the evee-lution and came up with a couple of the others. Most famously, the Pokemon, Squimp, was conceived during a boring BSO meeting and scribbled on a post it while they were talking and me and Jake were giggling about it. The story this time around was even better, the Pokemon more surprising, and overall it was an amazing time. Down below you can see our teams from the combined playthroughs and Jakes amazing artwork in them. We played from 7pm to 2am.
We always joke about our “Bud Knights”, but I always forget constantly how important they are. The term comes from that stupid Bud Light Super Bowl commercial 2 years ago. Jake went home from the party we were at and actually sketched it in its full armor. Henceforth, a Bud Knight is creating or doing something you love that will please you primarily and others as well. It’s just something you would do that would bring you unique happiness. We have several benched right now, like a radio show about regrettably hilarious and useless superheroes that I still very much want to create. Creating this game was way above the standard amount of work one would put into a Bud Knight.
I used to paint in my free time. I used to play piano whenever I got the chance. I used to sketch and read and write all the time, but now I don’t. This is all extra hilarious when you consider that creativity is one of my 3 core values. It’s not that I don’t want to have fun anymore, but that I feel like I have forgotten how, amongst these tangled vines of pressure and lies that choke the lighthearted spirit right out of me. Don’t forget about your Bud Knights, friends. They are so important even though they may seem silly.
~J
“Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” -Luke 18:17
Water from the Rock 