More Than Just a Game

During the holidays, we’re running a contest through our “12 Days of the Spiral“.  The question is – what has Wizard101 or Pirate101 meant to you and/or your family in the past year?  Today we have our sixth winner!  Read how Wizard101 helped Jessica SkySong live life to the fullest while she was recovering from an injury.

“Hey Mom, how are all your little wizard friends today?” asks my 25-year old son, mocking me ever so gently. Little does he know how Wizard101 has been a lifesaver for me this past year.

When torn cartilage and tendons in my hip sidelined me over twelve months ago, making me a virtual prisoner in my own home, I turned to Wizard101 while I awaited surgery. What a difference this game has made to my mood and outlook! I may be immobilized in real life, trapped on a couch, but my wizardly self gets to run, jump and “fly” in a virtual world. There are times when, after playing for an extended period of time, I close my eyes to sleep and feel myself “flying” over the cobblestones in Olde Town. Now that’s magical!

In fact, it’s Wizard101 that has enabled me to “continue” my usual activities of daily living, brightening my mood. Rather than fretting that I can’t tend to my real garden, I putter in my virtual gardens, where the pests are easier to deal with and harvests never disappoint. Unable to finish home improvement projects, I now decorate my wizard homes instead…and doesn’t that make me feel like a little girl again, playing with doll houses! How precious and rare is an activity that can make us feel young? I can no longer sit at my sewing machine, but here in Wizard101 I get to craft and “stitch” to my heart’s content. Best of all I don’t have to wait for real-world friends to return from work to socialize; I can find adult wizard friends—-some half a world away– almost any time of the night or day, ready for questing and bantering (And yes, Virginia, there are adult wizards in the Spiral!).

This Christmas I won’t be able to make the long trip home to distribute gifts to family. Instead I’ll be dusting off my wizard’s Santa suit and sleigh, ready to take my spot on the Commons and delight in gifting some unsuspecting wizards in my KI family. Wizard101 is more than a game to me now; it’s a much-needed distraction when TV bores me and pain interferes with sleeping or reading, a way to socialize I never thought possible (many thanks to all my “little wizard friends”!), a surrogate family, an outlet for creativity, a window onto a world where I can feel something like my old self again—even if I am wearing a goofy hat and riding a dragon! Many thanks, KI, for keeping me sane during some tough times.

Jessica SkySong
Level 93 Life Wizard