Social Links and Its Implications

"The Bonds of People is the true power"

I spent a huge chunk of my sem break playing Persona 3 Portable and re-watching Persona 4: Animation (aside from the hair-tearing college apps) It was a huge bout of nostalgia because these two games changed my life's paradigm permanently.

Games changed my life?

Of course.

Childish?
Maybe, but the implications are too huge for me to ignore it.

You see, I hate humans before. 

I repeat, I HATE HUMANS. I got easily annoyed by humans in general except a several few of my close friends. The idea of making new friends and talking to stranger is a big No for me. No wonder I was a huge dork at that time. Socially awkward, unattractive and fat.

But playing Persona 3 in 2007 somehow changed me. In this game, there are two main parts: The Midnight Dungeon Crawler where you play just like normal RPGs and a dating sim-like game in the morning and afternoon. 

At first, I like the dungeon crawler part more than the dating sim part. I mean, come on. Killing demons and shadows with cool looking psychological manifestation of your inner desires is wayyyyyy cooler than interacting with humans (2D, but still) It was a chore. I need to do the dating sim part of the game because by forging 'SOCIAL LINKS', you can get more powerful and cooler attacks. Well, just skipping through the text will do.

But I didn't...

In fact, I stop and read through everything the character said. From that kid who ran away from human to that guy who has chronic illness at the shrine, I read their stories and interact promptly when the option came up. And I had my heart touched several times.

Before I knew it, I got attached to the characters in my screen. They were so real. They were lively. They were humans.

When I finished Persona 3 at one October night, I felt empty...No more characters to interact with...

I did attempted to replay it but hearing the same story again is not as good as hearing it for the first time...

But you see, people around me are SOCIAL LINKS. And I came to realize that. 

"Hey Naz, why don't you forge social links with people around you. Who knows, you might gain power." said my heart.

So, I did. As horribly as it went for the first time but it turns out well in the end. I remember when I became a part of the "Form Two DotA group" back in 2008, I feel so happy. My first big social link. And I took care of it. Just being in that group made my life somehow...meaningful...

For the first time, I love humans :)

And the rest is history...

I believe that who am I today is the result of cumulative influence by people around me aka the bonds that I have. I'm sure, if my friends and family changed even by one person, the Nazran today would be different.

So, I thank those who directly or indirectly influence me, whether you realize it or not.

And a shout out to those to read this.

See the world, the people around you. They have their story to tell. Listen to them, converse with them, be a part of their life. Because they will be a part of yours too. That will give you strength and power for you to face life's toughest adversity