Candy Crush My Life
Two months ago, I decided to delve into the deep, dark world of “Candy Crush Saga”. I saw my friends’ posts on Facebook about beating levels and I thought to myself “Oooh, maybe I should try this out!”. I really love BeJeweled and Chuzzle, so I thought it would be a great addition to my game repertoire. I had no idea what I was in for.
Initially, things were great! I flew through the first levels like an expert. As I progressed and the levels got harder, I was shocked when I lost my 5 lives, I was asked to either ask friend for life or pay 99 cents! I thought to myself, “Who actually pays for this!?” I started to ask for lives and give lives, which made me feel like a better person to society.
One day, no one was responding to my “unlock the next level” request and I was really anxious to play. I thought to myself “Okay, you can spend 99 cents for the next level. You spend a lot more money on other things”. From that pivotal moment, my life changed.
As I got higher in the levels, more anxiety and obsession kicked in. I thought “I need to beat this level before I go to bed!” I was paying 99 cents multiple times a day; sometimes thinking “well you didn’t have that extra iced coffee today, so you can buy at least 2 life packs”. I would schedule my playing so I could maximize how many times I could play during the day with my 5 free lives. I would start hating levels, but once I beat them and went the next (and usually worse) level, I would start missing the previous one. I had dreams about playing. I never understood how I would send lives to people who were stuck for over 70 days! Were they just really bad at the game or did they quit? And if so, how did they do it?! All I wanted in life was SUGAR CRUSH!!!!
One night I was watching an episode of Intervention and BAM, it hit me! I am a full blown Candy Crush addict. I am no better than a heroin addict! I pictured my family sitting around a hotel conference room, telling me they love me, then sending me on a plane to sunny beachy rehab in Florida (come to think of it, I could use a vacation so that sounds good). I bet they would ban candy from that rehab so it doesn’t trigger flashbacks of the game…….
Once I realized I am no better than a heroin junkie (but with less track marks), I decided I needed to get myself together and limit my playing. I have now started to play Bubble Witch Saga to pass the time while I get a new life in Candy Crush. Also I promised myself to not pay a dime to play. So far I am doing good, but I’m scared its because I officially hate Level 135 and once I hit Level 136, all bets are off……
…..But until then, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference”
Read more from Michelle Bigg here.
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