• High school was probably the worst time of my life... so far. My brother fell into alcohol head-first, my sister and I fought more often than usual (and not just verbally), my parents got separated, and all my friends were slowly abandoning me. I fell into a deep depression and, because I felt so alone in the world, I turned to the one thing I knew would never leave my side- my videogames.

    My daily schedule was horrible- I'd wake up at 6 am, go to school and sleep through all my classes (if I didn't ditch school halfway through the day), go home to hide in my room with my GameCube and PS2 until dinner time. When my mom would call me down for dinner, I'd sit at the table and eat as fast as I could, just so I could go back to Zelda, Link, and Gannondorf.

    Needless to say, I failed the 9th grade. But, for some reason unknown to me, the school let me go on to become a sophomore. Well, that didn't last too long. Halfway through the school year, I gave up and told my mom I wanted to be homeschooled, if I had to attend school at all. She understood, and complied, and my depression lifted a bit. I made a vow to myself to bring my grades back up- I spent all day studying, then all night (you guessed it) playing videogames. Now I had Jak and Daxter to keep me company. I finished the 10th grade school year in about 4 months.

    But back at the public school I had attended, the rumors flew about why I'd left. Luckily, I had one true friend left, Alex. She kept her ears open and reported back to me what people were saying. I heard the most ridiculous things- I'd gotten pregnant, I ran away, my parents were sending me to private school, and (I told Alex to spread this one) that I had died! HAH!! Silly gossip mongerers.

    Well, life continued this way, studing then gaming, for two years. Then my father stopped paying child support. My mom couldn't afford to keep homeschooling me. I was forced to become a high school drop-out one "year" before graduating. My depression worsened again.

    I'd like to say that this story has a happy ending- that I got a job, managed to get in my final year and graduated at the top of my "class." That my parents made up, my sister became my best friend, and my brother went to rehab. Only one of those things happened- my brother did go to rehab. He managed to stay sober for a full year before relapsing.

    Truth is, I don't know how this story ends... After all, it's my life. It will only end when I pass on to the next life.