The following blog is about how my life actually improved after playing Persona 3. First off, in 2008, my life in general, or at least the way in which I tried to live it, was a complete mess. I failed in school and they kept me behind a year, I was having trouble at home and problems keeping up with my friends and family. It wasn't till I started the new year and started playing Persona 3, that I woke up. I saw how easily managable things in one's life really are. I said, "Wow, if my main character can handle juggling his school life and social life, and still have time to battle the forces of evil, why can't I?" Well, of course I don't have to defeat shadows or traverse dungeons in Tartarus, so apparently I shouldn't have any trouble handling the other two things.

I began by mapping out my life. What I mean by that is that I drew up a calendar and kept track of my school work. I'd study when a test was coming up and I'd sleep early on school days when there weren't. I even mapped out my "social links" or my relationships with other people and made it a priority to spend time with the individuals closest to me. Sure, it sounds crazy that I'd basically try to live out my life like a videogame, but the truth is, that apart from making my life easier, it also made it more enjoyable.

I began to get better grades in school. I began to understand why friendships are so important and even started to treasure precious moments I used to take for granted. My new way of seeing things helped to boost my self esteem and gave my days more importance. I now see things like extracurricular activites as more of a social advantage and not just a hassle. It also helped me to think about setting and achieving goals, not for someone else, but for myself. Something I learned from Persona 3 is that time is short, and everyday should be lived to its fullest. One should be as productive as can be and strive to do better. I guess that's something obvious to some people, but it had been a concept so elusive to me until now.

Don't get me wrong. My lifestyle isn't going to be limited to that of a videogame. I just see it as an expansion pack that helped fix some bugs. I've played games since I was five years old, and after all this time, I never thought that I'd ever get something out of a game that I could apply to life.

Well, this year has been cruel to anyone who has yet to get a next-gen system. I'm still in the past and it'll be a while till I get out. So, I came up with this crazy idea of how I could add at least 400+ hours of stuff to do with my PS2. The other day I was looking up news on Final Fantasy XIII, when I came across something that made my stomache churn. It was Final Fantasy XII: International Zodiac Job System. I was impressed with it's ridiculously long name and I was angry that it hadn't come out anywhere but Japan. Luckily this has been my second month studying Japanese and whilst I only have down my Katakana, I'm starting to get somewhere.

What I'm saying is that I'm planning on getting my hands on some J-RPG exclusives! What better way to work on your Japanese than by playing a videogame. The games I really wanna get are FFXII: IZJS, Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ and Persona 3: FES although I'll just get that one in English to save me the trouble. With those three games and a couple of flings on the way, I'll be good till the holiday season where I plan to get me a Playstation 3 and enjoy all it has to offer by then which apparently is ALOT!