Playing "The Game of Life"

Have you played "The Game of Life" when you were younger?  I know I have multiple times, both as a board game and as a computer game, it is a really fun game however hidden in the game is a concept that there are set times that things should occur. This concept is really personified in the computer version because the voice in the audio track constantly says Stop then some sort of life event. These include STOP-College graduation, STOP-Get a job, STOP- Get Married, STOP- buy a house, and finally STOP- have a baby. When playing this game as a kid I was constantly ready to get to these STOP locations because I wanted to advance in my future of the game. I remember that I would get upset if someone got to a STOP point before me. Fast-forward years later and between the game and society this linear pattern of time and accomplishments has be implanted into my brain and at times I feel less than I am when somebody else makes it to a STOP point before me.

While I was at UCLA I took an education class where the professor challenged this linear concept of time. He taught us that we don’t have to follow a set path that is laid out for us by society and what we think in correct in our mind. If we do follow it, then it will end up in heartbreak when we don’t reach a certain goal in the time we thought we would. An example of this can be seen by my age and the next step in my life which would be getting a job/marriage based upon the linear pattern of time. My mom got married when she was 24 years old and this year I am turning 24, if I define my life accomplishments based upon the linear concept then I am behind in my life plans compared to how my mom was. Looking back at my mom’s life she and my father had enough money to afford a house and already had stable jobs. For me personally right now I am in the middle of nursing school so my life is dedicated to studying and I have no time for a job to make some extra money. Additionally when looking at marriage right now, although I would love to be married, I can’t because I personally am not in a place to be married, unlike my mom at 24, I cannot afford to purchase a house. Do I define my success in life based upon the fact that I am not married and currently have no job? If you follow the linear pattern of life then yes because I am not in the place my peers’ are/mom was.

I am not going to lie, I used to follow the linear pattern but a couple years ago I realized that this pattern of thinking is only detrimental and absolutely absurd. There are no set times when we accomplish tasks, if my best friend gets married before me it does not mean that I am less than her. I really want to stress the concept that your life is yours and you only live once. If you go around defining your success based upon where you are in “the game of life” compared to others you will never feel accomplished. Rather going down this destructive road make a list of things you would like to accomplish in the next 10 years with absolutely no deadline. By doing this you are making a goal list rather than a timeline. You are the person who controls your life not others, embrace each day not as a race to get to a certain goal but rather a blessing that has an infinite amount of possibilities