In 2001, I was introduced to the world of Dance Dance Revolution, DDR for short, a video game in which you are supposed to use your feet to hit 4 arrows: up, down, left, and right, and time your foot stomping with arrows that run to the top of a screen.
My closest childhood friend and his older brother got me into the game when they brought over a plastic pad strapped to a wooden plank to try to mimic the feel of an arcade-style pad. For many years after that in middle school and high school, my twin sister, my childhood friend Kyle, and me would ride our bikes to this place called "Eskape" several times a week to play DDR. After mine and Kyle's friendship died in the middle of high school, I went away to college and played very scarcely for a number of years. In 2014, after gaining a bunch of weight in college, I decided to start avidly playing again and in combination with that, martial arts, running, and proper diet, I lost 60 pounds. Who knew how much a silly game would later impact my life for the better!
Fast forward to pretty much my birthday, February 24, 2018. I was having a very tough time. I had just had a falling out with those I thought were my best friends and was forced to move and had done so three days prior to this day. I was extremely out of shape and hadn't played DDR in a hot minute. I also hadn't gone out in awhile and decided since it was my birthday weekend to go live a little. I knew on Facebook there was a DDR party going on that night and decided to give it a whirl. And it was 25 minutes away from where I was living at the time. This was my first DDR party and went into it hoping for the best.
When I arrived at the party, I didn't know anyone and headed straight towards the DDR machine. I sat down and waited to play. Within a few minutes, a guy named Chris walks up to me and we start talking for awhile. A few minutes later we stepped into the corner room to talk some more. Within a few minutes of conversation, a recent bad memory triggered, along with having an unstable mental state at the time, and I proceeded to lose my marbles and cry for about 90min to this poor guy I just met that night. Thankfully, Chris was a brave warrior and listened to me and consoled me. As soon as I felt better, we played a few rounds of DDR, talked some more, and that night lived happily ever after and continued talking to each other a lot for the most part after that night.
A week later, Chris invited me back to the person's house who hosted the party to play some more DDR. I thought it was just going to be me and Chris alone, but there were a few others there, specifically a certain someone with green hair at the time named Adam. I noticed the super cool hair and the extroverted side of me decided to talk to him. I was sharing my interests and hobbies with Adam and he seemed very interested in what I had to say, specifically that I like recording videos and posting them to YouTube. We exchanged contact information and recorded a video together, but didn't become super close until we went to a couple of anime conventions together. I didn't realize how integral both Chris and Adam would be to my life until I decided to ditch most of my old friends, which opened up the ability for me to become close to new people. They were also both there for me at different points of a very rough living situation.
I had mentioned earlier how I had just moved into a new apartment, but it fell apart very rapidly and I had to move a second time. In May 2018, I found out the apartment I was living in had bedbugs, specifically visible on my bed. My relationship with the people I was living with was also sharply declining. Throughout my time in "shitpartment land" as I coined it, both Chris and Adam were there for me at different points. Whenever I was stressed out or needed a morale boost, Chris was always there for me. He also encouraged me to make wise decisions, like improving my relationship with my parents, ditching my old friends, and taking an overall step back in my life in order to get back on track. As for Adam, he has resparked my hope in what it means to have real friends by being there for me emotionally and allowing me to express my needs. By the time I was ready to get the fuck out of shitpartment land, Adam was ready to go on an epic adventure with me before being the only person to help me move my stuff. He has also given me a safe haven place to get away from those who don't treat me right, have fun, and express my creativity. I've also gotten back on track health wise, drastically improved at DDR, and even found a job in my field of choice after 3 years of trying since I met both Chris and Adam. The three of us call ourselves the "Midwestern Triangle" and I'm excited to see what the future holds for us. I've met plenty of other beautiful souls in the DDR community, but Chris and Adam have been the most noteworthy. Thank you DDR community for helping me get through one of the most difficult parts of my life. I'm onto bigger and better things now.
How can such a niche arcade game create a widespread, loving community? Go get involved in the underground society, put yourself out there, and present yourself with a smile!
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