My MMO Story

Well it all began when my mother wanted me to go over to her friend's house to a small holiday party. At first I didn't want to go, but I decided it may be a little bit of fun. I'm not sure if I would go there if I could travel back in time, but it was definitely the reason my life took a completely different turn then was expected.
Her friend's boyfriend showed me a game called City of Heroes. At first I thought it looked pretty fun and interesting, but later I realized it was more than just a recreational game. There character customization is what really got me to consider buying it. The next day I made my decision, and I went out to buy it. I installed it and my life changed. I'm not sure of the exact amount of straight days I played that game, but if I could estimate it would be around 30-40 days over the course of two years.
Of course now that's nothing.
I met my girlfriend on that game, and we switched over to WoW after two years. The amount of time I used up, and still use on that game, is more than anyone should spend. My main character I had spent a total of 70 days on, and my alternate (now main) I have spent a total of 56 days on. This is just two characters, so I will estimate around 150 days spent on World of Warcraft since the release date.
My girlfriend is no longer with me, but I think I learned a lot from that relationship and I'm glad it happened. We had met irl quite a few times over the course of our relationship, but we decided that we should find people that were nearer to us.
No matter how much I have played that game, and no matter how many things I could have done, I believe it was a good choice. I don't play to the point where I ignore real life, because most of my real life friends play on the game as well. We hang out at least four times a week in reality, so I DO have a life, although I didn't initially when I played WoW.
I don't plan on quitting World of Warcraft any time soon. It's a fun game, and I have a lot of real life friends that play it, and a lot of friends that I've met over the internet. I've been introduced to different cultures (the Chinese culture, especially =D) and opened my mind. I have little to regret from playing MMO's, and I am ultimately glad I began to play them.

I believe that MMO's are great tools for meeting people, and there are many benefits to it beyond what most think. It helps coordination, reaction time, reading and writing capabilities, and gives those with disabilities to act as though they are like everyone else. MMO's for some can be substitutes for drugs, but unfortunately for some (including myself) it can be a drug all in itself.