Some may think I’m obsessive. During spring break, I spent 54 hours playing Minecraft in only 3 days. That's 18 hours a day. I've always enjoyed playing video games. The games I enjoy most are ones where I see my efforts put into something lasting, something I have fun creating. For example, my friends and I had a few Minecraft servers to play together on. Most of the servers didn't last longer than a month, but this time was different. 

This time, we decided to pay for a realm so anyone could play whenever they wanted. Around then, I was inspired to build a pyramid. I planned to make the exterior out of sandstone, with orange terracotta for texture. I was determined to finish the pyramid before the end of spring break. So I stayed up late every night. I sat on the floor in front of my TV, listening to music on a Bluetooth speaker and talking to my friends over the phone. The thought of finishing my work consumed me; I only took breaks to eat and sleep. After school started, I had less time to work, but I spent all of my free time staying up for hours. The next weekend, my friend invited someone new to the realm who, for reasons unknown to me, decided to destroy my project with TNT. I was devastated, and stayed up until 1 am, repairing a sizeable gash in the side of the pyramid. After all, why should I let some delinquent get in the way of my work? I continued until I had finished the pyramid, but it wasn't enough. I constructed a small village outside, filled with houses for nonexistent merchants. Once summer began, I felt it still wasn't enough. I expanded the city to the other side of the river, as well as to the coast, where I created a harbor with a market. I began construction on an extensive underground cave system with 11 sections. It started with a short tunnel leading into a larger cave with a waterfall and a small stream. The center cavern was surrounded by 4 rooms filled with gold. Each room was connected by a tunnel with different themes. The most laborious part was that it was excavated by hand. In addition, I replaced the walls with terracotta and the floors with sandstone to achieve the desert look I was going for.

By the time I was halfway finished, I was the only person left playing regularly. Everyone else couldn't be bothered to finish their work. I was the only one with any dedication to their own creations. I continued to work, motivated by the sense of accomplishment I would get when I saw its completed form. I spent summer break staring at a cave wall, scraping away until the cavern was big enough. Finally, I finished everything in early spring. Luckily, I made sure to take lots of pictures, because only 2 weeks later, the realm was deleted. Unfortunately, the medium in which I decided to build my permanent monument turned out to be not so permanent. I retrieved the newest backup of the realm from the friend who owned it, but because backups are only created when the owner logs on, it was missing 5 months of work. I realized that I should have understood the risks of the platform that I was using.

It may be true that my project would be considered a waste of time by most, but I show the same amount of dedication to any project I start. After all, what is the point of starting something if you don’t plan on finishing it? My drive to complete my projects and the joy of creation are what will continue to motivate me to work hard. I will continue to work hard toward my dreams so that one day I can see my own success.