Though Facebook has been a great way for me to network with other musicians, keep in touch with distant (geographically, not emotionally) family members and friends, and keep up on what's happening in my clique, one of the evils of Facebook that I fell to was online gaming. I can admit it now: I am addicted to an MMORPG.
Sorority Life started as a joke. It was hilarious to be able to "terminally depress" other players by whittling down their "confidence." I loved that I could buy Dolce and Gabanna dresses with my fake currency for my virtual avatar named Amberlene (the ditziest sorority girl name I could come up with). I'm not sure how it turned into something I had to play every day, for several hours each day. I don't remember when I started having dreams about Sorority Life. I know I started to play a few months after Ryan and I started dating, and by that summer it was the first thing I did whenever I got on a computer.
I made it to level 171. I had over a billion dollars in my bank account. I had several limited edition items in my wardrobe. I had over 180 sorority sisters. I had the power to fight and win against players with twice as many sisters in their house. I regularly checked a website that had tips and cheats for the game. I became Facebook friends with over 100 people who also played Sorority Life-- people I have never met and will never meet, people who are addicts like me.
Despite my power inside the game, Sorority Life was taking away my willpower to control my real life. When entertaining people at my house I would sneak into our office to play Sorority Life. Instead of reading a book for class or doing homework I would sit in front of the TV with the computer in my lap, wasting hours listening to a show while trying to level up. Even when Ryan was home and he wanted to hang out, my version of "hanging out" was sitting in front of the TV with my computer in my lap playing Sorority Life while he sat next to me, sometimes looking over my shoulder, sometimes making fun of me.
I tried to quit a couple of times. The first time I just removed the application and all the Sorority Life "friends" I had made. This time, I decided to remove the power I had in the game as well. About an hour ago I sold all my rare, hard-to-find, no-longer-available items. I removed all my sisters from my house. I quit my "job" so my avatar would no longer earn money. I tried to make it hard for me to want to play again, to have the same level of power in the game. Hopefully this time I can stay away for good.
