Growing up, I would sometimes try to hide my gaming addiction from the outside world. Sure, I always had a core group of friends who would come over every weekend and help me beat a bunch of Final Fantasy games. Not to mention those all-night LAN parties fueled by gallons of soda and fistfuls of candy. My passion for games was no secret to these select few buddies.
In general, though, I didn’t feel comfortable letting others know about my obsession. Then everything changed. I discovered WoW and became so addicted that I no longer cared what anyone thought. If they didn’t get it, it was their problem, not mine. I bought an entire wardrobe’s worth of World of Warcraft t-shirts and made new friends who shared my passion for the online phenomenon.