Hi all,
Disclaimer: This might be a slightly long post, and contains some sensitive material - and I know the forums are full of Trolls who have nothing better to do than to try and demoralize others on the Internet, but I just ask you try to be respectful. I just wanted to share a story of what WoW has done for me, what the community has done for me and hope this can put a smile on someone’s face because I think the Internet, and the current social climate in the US is rather depressing, negative and hurtful:
WoW Classic: A Story, through a Journey:
Let us time travel back to the days of 2001, here I was, a young 7 year old boy living in this world trying to make the best of my childhood. My mom had passed away when I was 4 years old from Breast Cancer, leaving me to my Father, my SIster, and my grandma who moved in to help my father raise my sister and I…
In late 2002, that grandma who moved in also passed away… leaving just my father to take care of my sister and I. A few short months after my grandma’s passing, my father suffered a stroke leaving him paralyzed from the waist down… making being a father to young children rather difficult.
We’re now in mid 2003, my sister and I have been taken away from my father by child protective services, deemed ‘unfit to raise children’. My sister and I move into an abusive foster home, where we are neglected and verbally abused. We have weekend visits to my father, which is nice.
It is a brisk October morning, the leaves are turning beautiful colors in upstate New York. I head to my Father’s house, excited to get away from the Care home I was placed in. I walk in, thrilled to run to my immobile father and give him and hug and kiss… my sister decided to see a few of her girlfriends in the neighborhood first. I walk into my father’s room , where I can usually find him watching television… somehow baseball was played on the TV year round in my household. He sure did love the yankees. I find my father, lifeless on the bed, cold to the touch. I notice a note on the night stand next to the bed. In summary, the note essentially apologizes for his lack of being a father figure, and apologies for taking his own life, but stated he had nothing to life for anymore, having lost his parents, his wife, and now his children.
9 year old me, shocked by this, runs next door to my Aunt and Uncles home… I notify my aunt and life beings to progress.
New York State has strange rules for fostering and adoption, but just a matter of weeks after my father’s death my sister and I are finally legally adopted by my aunt and uncle. A big change is happening in my life. Though I was always close with these family members, my cousins who lived there were upwards of 15 years older than me.
I wanted to fit in, and bond with my new ‘brothers’ but being so much younger than them it was difficult. I’m sure by now you’re like… ok where is WoW, dude? Well, this is where WoW changed my life.
It was 2004, my two brothers, who were massive gamers, were talking about this new revolutionary online game they got closed beta invites to… World of Warcraft. Curious me asks if I can play with them as well… and of course, using my oldest brother’s old rig, I install this new game and I am immersed into a brand new world… the world of Azeroth.
Azeroth to me, was a mystical place for so many reasons. It was an active, living world… but a world where I could escape the pain and trauma I experienced in my life. A place where I, too, could be a hero of the Horde or Alliance. A place where I was not different than my classmates not having biological parents, a place where the pain I suffered as a child was not particularly evident to those around me and a place where I could bond, and form a stronger relationship with my brothers, who were much older than me.
I clearly remember when the closed beta ended, and I had to wait sometime before the release of WoW in November of 2004. I was just so excited to get back into the world of Azeroth. My Aunt and Uncle (mom and dad I called them now) told me that if I keep my grades up, and do well in school… they would give me a $15 allowance every month to play WoW. This motivated me beyond belief.
I remember release day of Vanilla WoW… my brothers and I spamming ‘Enter World’ and kept watching servers crash, and crash… us yelling out of frustration… but I loved it.
I rolled a Night Elf Druid, a female… because… why not? I could. It was Azeroth, I could be whoever I wanted to be. I didn’t need to be an anxious, afraid young 9 year old. I could be a strong bear, or an agile cat and aid my fellow adventures with heals and buffs!
I remember running around the world, being exceptionally friendly to anyone I encountered, always grouping up. I built so many relationships with people, from around the country, from every walk of life, and every age.
I remember logging into Azeroth, I would just leave my internal struggles at the door and I would instantly become a happier person. My parents, who were apprehensive at first, saw the changes in me just weeks after playing. My teachers noticed I started working harder in school… and my social skills started to increase. I had a counselor who was assigned to me to help me deal with my grief and trauma of losing my mother, and finding my father’s lifeless body. Even she exclaimed that whatever I was doing, something was working… something was breaking me out of my shell and making me a kid again.
That something was World of Warcraft. Blizzard, I cannot thank you more for what you have created for so many people. WoW has meant so much to me in my life. I am now 25 years old, and I have even gone to 10 BlizzCons… this year being my 11th. I’ve made countless friends, even some I still talk to from early years…
In later years of WoW, in 2011, I was struggling with another dilemma: I knew I was gay, but I was not ready to come out in the real world. I remember telling a few close WoW friends in 2011, and then my guild… and I was welcomed with warmth and care. No judgement. It was not till late 2012 did I ‘come out’ in person. Without my friends on WoW, I don’t know when I would have gathered that courage.
It’s now 2019, and I am a proud, openly gay male living my absolute dream. Since 2004, I have lost my adopted father as well… but through good times and bad, I’ve always had WoW to fall back on… and it has picked me up and kept me going…
Playing WoW classic has brought back SO many memories. Memories I didn’t even know I would remember. Running through these zones, doing these quests, and still playing a female night elf druid (the exact character model I used!) has nearly brought me to tears sometimes… because I just remember logging on somedays when I was having a difficult time when I was a younin’ and remembered how WOW really took me out of those funks.
Blizzard, really thank you for this experience to relive the moments I struggled with as a child, and allowing me to appreciate the amazing strides I’ve made as a young adult, losing 3 parents, and battling the woes many LGBT+ youth have with coming out.
I cannot wait for BlizzCon 2019, and if anyone here will be there: I would love to say hello.
I hope you all enjoyed my story; have a wonderful day - and see you all in Azeroth!
Cheers! 
