I cannot remember the first time I held a video game controller, but I was four when I formed my first memories playing video games.  I recall joyous occasions when my dad would bring home a small suitcase containing a Super Nintendo console along with a game to play.  

I was also four when the Nintendo 64 was released.  My first encounter with the console is a vivid memory.  I entered the local Toys R’ Us with my dad and sprinted to the video games department.  Upon arrival, I stopped to gander at what was a small crowd of kids gazing upon a row of what was probably ten stations demoing Super Mario 64.  I soon overheard a mom standing next to me call to one of the kids playing at a station to leave which, fortunately for me, had no onlookers watching.  I casually walked towards the station the kid was occupying and the mother power-walked past me, took one of the child’s arms and dragged him away.  I ran the remaining distance and successfully grabbed the controller before any of the other kids had noticed.  Mischievous, I know.  

On my fifth birthday, my parents bought me a Nintendo 64 as my very first game console.  Sadly, I can only vaguely recall the event, but I do remember gawking at the console’s box.  Specifically, I recall pointing at every picture on the box and telling my two-and-a-half-year-old brother that “I am going to get that game.  Oh, and that game.  Oh, and definitely that one…maybe that one too.”  What transpired afterward is lodged too deep in the chasms of my mind for me to remember.  I can only imagine that shortly after the box was unwrapped, that the console was unpacked and installed.  Then, sounding out of my family’s TV for the first out of what would have to be a few thousand times:  “It’s a-me, Mario!”

Weight lifting.  It is one of the few things that I enjoy doing outside of pre-med related activities.  I usually go at the end of the day because that’s when I’m mentally exhausted and it gives me time to reflect and organize my thoughts.  It is also kind of relaxing for it relieves any stress I may had accumulated throughout the day.

One of my most favorite parts of weight lifting is that there is no grading.  There is no rubric.  There is no one that I am always comparing myself to.  There is no fixed deadline.  There is no modifying my performance to meet another’s expectations.  Overall, it is a very liberating experience.  I prefer to go by myself and so it is just my weights and I.

People usually make comments about my exercising in conjunction with my diet habits.  For one, after a workout, I’ll sometimes grab myself an ice cream or a bag of potato chips.  People tend to not see the point in going to the gym with this habit.  I respond by asking if it is better to have desserts/snacks and not go to the gym at all?  Each time I say this people will stare at me probably because they’re not sure how to reply.  Soon enough, people will say something like; “You’re not going to lose any weight or making any improvements to your body.” I explain to them that I am not trying to make any changes to my figure. I am content with what my body currently looks like and so I have no issues with the deserts I eat cancelling out any of the work I do at the gym.  I love ice cream!  And going to the gym gives me the luxury to enjoy it without significant weight gain.  It is yet another reason why I enjoy going to the gym!