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Growing up knowing I wanted to be a writer, I listened to a lot of the things that writers have said about writing. One of the most common things I heard about it was that you should read. And I get that, and I agree with it. The more read, the more you know about what you like to read, the more you know about how you should write. It's not necessarily a conscious thing, but it's there. You read and you read and you read and you write and you read and you write some more. It's an endless cycle, and that's a good thing.

I also grew up in a world of distractions and accusations. Not necessarily directly at me, but they were all definitely there. You should be reading instead of playing games. You should be doing homework instead of watching tv. You should be doing something active instead of reading. What do you think you're gonna do with your life when you grow up? Playing all those games isn't gonna help you get there. You need to get up and apply yourself.

I can't really disagree with any of these things. I do, however, think that most people grossly misvalue things. There are most certainly pathways in life in which all of these things which people around you say are worthless are not only useful, but nearly vital. In fact, I would argue that most positions out there can be aided by playing games or watching tv or reading. You just have to play, watch, or read the right things. Or be able to look at and understand these things in ways you wouldn't normally think of.

As a writer, having grown up in both of these worlds simultaneously, I know understand this on a level I think a lot of people don't. I'm not trying to brag or make myself out to be better in some way in saying this. The fact is simply that I look at things differently, and so I understand things in a different way. Being a writer, there is nothing you can do that you can't take from. Everything has a story behind it. A writer's job is simply to find that story and to tell it.

But personally, I don't think it's just writer's that have this advantage. If you've ever had a friend who wanted to do something just because they say it in a tv show or a movie, you probably thought they were an idiot. And a lot of times, you were probably right. But think about it. What they saw inspired them. It made them think about the world differently. As they pursue that path, they may find it was not what they initially expected. But that's not a bad thing. They learned from that. And if it worked out, then they gained a key part of themselves because of it.

I've said before that a writer writes based on what they know. They put their heart and soul into what they write, and they produce something based on life. If someone comes along and sees that, and is inspired by that, and goes on to try and live that life, then that writer has done something amazing for them. And it doesn't matter what life they write.

A great example is the show Star Trek. If you've ever seen the original series, you know how cheesy and old it is. But think about it for a minute. There are tons of things that were on that show that didn't exist in the real world at the time. And now, some of them do, and some of them are even outdated. Their communicators were small boxes with a flip up cover that answered calls when it was opened. Ten years ago, flip phones were all the rage. And the people who invented those got the idea from Star Trek, and tried to make what they saw a reality.

So, while you should keep your game playing and tv watching in check to make sure they don't fall out of moderation, don't write them off as useless. Somewhere down the road, you may just find that they are worth more to you than you could ever know.