Let's Talk about Life for a sec

[Maple Man]

Reading back, I didn't like what I put here, felt a tad bit personal, wiped what I said here.

[Boss Llama]

Hey Maple. Good on you, being able to assess your priorities in life, and take the steps you need to in order to let yourself reach for them. I think many of us have experienced similar feelings at various points, and have had to step back for a time to handle other responsibilities of the adult, real-world variety. For myself it was when I was in college, where I realized in sophomore year that if I was going to actually gain anything from this formative life experience, I would have to get out there and pay attention. After graduating, I was able to come back to gaming with my world a bit more in focus, and was able to split time in a way that allowed both business and pleasure to succeed. That was long before my time at The Ville, but was with a similar community network and self-pressure to perform.

Real life must *always* have priority over gaming, as much as we love the latter. Senior year of high school and time in college are amongst the significant and formative periods of your life, with potentially wide-ranging affects (as you identified) on the sort of adult you become and the career path you follow. Get out there and explore your options, have fun with them, and find a path that lets you combine what you love doing with what you want to become. Avail yourself of the wisdom of your favorite teachers and, in college, your professors. Most of them will be happy to talk seriously about pretty much anything with a student who really cares.

Good luck and safe travels! We'll always have our door open, and will be happy to say hello whether you're sticking around for a minute or a lifetime.

Also, happy birthday!

[The Domer]

You're always welcome here Maple, but you do what you need to in order to achieve success as you define it. You ever want to talk, you know where to find me.

[YoullNeverWalkAlone]

I teach and coach high school kids so I can empathize with what you are talking about. I also grew up with Asian best friends and know what you mean about strict parents. I had a friend who went to Harvard and when he was finally free of his parents, went to the complete opposite degree and did everything he wasn't supposed to do. Turned Harvard into a party school.

I've been in a similar boat where gaming was taking up a ton of my time and its been nice to pull back from it.

Good to see you around! Happy birthday and I'm glad you came by!

[Inner]

It's all good Maple.

[X.O.Skeleton]

Its good that you can prioritise things in life, that is very importaint trait to have.
And when you decide to pop in for some gaming dont be a stranger and poke your head in here too.
Study hard but remember to relax once in a while.