Throughout my time writing for Odyssey, I've consistently focused on the film industry and how it has affected me and influenced my passion for the arts. I discuss it so often that I often neglect some of the other artistic mediums that influenced me, such as comics and books. However, today I get to talk about a special experience I had with an artistic medium that's as close to my heart as film is: video games.

I've been gaming since I was old enough to hold a controller, and play "Sonic the Hedgehog" and "Mortal Kombat II" (please don't tell my mom I did that) on my cousin's Sega Genesis. The first console I ever owned was a Nintendo 64 and I played a decent amount of the "Toy Story 2" game and "Star Wars Episode I: Racer" on the system. But for the longest time, there was one thing I was never able to do in a video game: complete it.

I would always start a game and get through a good amount of it, but due to having trouble with a hard boss or moving on to another game, I was never able to commit to finishing one. That was until one game gave me the right amount of drive; "Luigi's Mansion." This was the game that I was finally not only able to complete but finish with the best score.

It was on one boring day during my summer vacation (I was about 16 or 17 at the time) and I decided to look up random things on YouTube. I eventually came across a channel that featured commentated gaming walkthroughs and noticed that one of the games they featured was for "Luigi's Mansion." I immediately recalled owning that game on my Nintendo GameCube but never finishing it (like I always did).

So I watched the walkthrough and took a mental note of all of the tips and tricks they used to beat the bosses, and find the most treasure. That afternoon I pulled out my GameCube and started playing. I was really enjoying myself searching for hidden secrets and beating bosses I was never able to get past as a kid. Then, however, I hit a snag.

I died on the Boolossus fight (which should come to no surprise to anyone who's played the game) and I realized that I hadn't been saving, so I had to start again from scratch. This put me in a bit of a bad mood, but I stuck to finishing this game. Luckily, I was able to fish out my old memory card (anyone younger than 15, just ask your parents what those were) and I was able to save from then on.

When I finally reached the last boss and finished the game, I felt an extreme level of satisfaction that I had never felt before wash over me as I watched the final cutscene and the credits. Then, I was even more satisfied when I realized I had gotten the highest rank in the game. I started in the afternoon and finished around midnight; to me, it was like completing a very tough but enjoyable quest.

Since then I've attempted to complete more of the games I've started and have even gone back to some classics. Sadly, as an adult with little free time and lots of responsibilities, I haven't been playing games as much as I used to. However, when I do, I almost always try to beat it.

That one day with "Luigi's Mansion" taught me how to see things through, even if missteps happen along the way. I took that to heart while going through high school and even college, and now I use it to see through a hard day at work or just a hard day in general. To make a long story short (too late) an almost 17-year-old video game taught me the importance of perseverance.