EDITOR'S NOTE

Press A
by Justin Johnson

At an early age, we become fascinated by buttons. Think back to when you were a baby ("What is this in the middle of my tummy?", "How does Daddy make the pictures change on the TV?," etc.). Buttons were, at that point in our lives, magic. Buttons were intrigue and wonder. The simple push of a button could summon Grandma from one corner of her house to the front door when we came for a visit. A button press would entertain us for hours in front of whatever new toy we had gotten, as long as it made a silly sound or played a song. Buttons were magic.

The day of my fifth birthday, buttons became a part of my life that would change me forever. My parents gave me the Nintendo Entertainment System, and that day is forever the day I became a gamer. I can't say how it felt to power on the system and play Super Mario Bros. for the first time because, come on, I was five. I do, however, have vivid memories of playing certain games, reaching certain levels, having certain reactions, and certainly having a blast.

When I say I became a gamer that day, it's not a stretch. Over the course of the two decades that have followed that day, there have been 18 video game system purchases, and countless games bought between myself, my brother, and my parents. Thinking of the money that could have been saved is mind-boggling, so I just don't. Instead, I think of what those two red buttons on the NES controller changed about me.

From the onset, I became the kind of person that involved himself completely in the character. With the press of a button, I became that character, and mentally, I was in that world. I was the person on the screen, running through that pixelized world, and I am still that same kid today. Yes, the buttons have gotten more numerous since then; this only allows me to do more things that I can't do in real life. For me, buttons are my gateway to an escape. Being able to dive into these worlds at an early age made me more creative in reality, so today I'm able to think less linearly and rationally to create my own worlds, whether through art or writing or any other medium. I owe a big part of my personality to video games, and I can't owe video games anything without first owing buttons.