By Laura Ferre Sanjuan
There was a Nintendo Wii in my parents’ house that I never used. I would rather read a book, play dolls with my sister or put on my roller skates and have fun in the sunny streets of my Spanish village. My favorite game was Mario Bros, though. I only played it when I was sick. Getting a cold was my worst problem back then. I had to miss school. And swallow medicines. But in that moments, my hero appeared. He did not wear a cloak or eat spinach. He wore dark t-shirts and a big smile. In his hands, the Wii commands, my favorite game and a bag of sweets. Those were my sick days when I was a kid: sweet, funny and full of love and support.
However, everything has changed now. Studying, working, living away from home, and so on. I got very sick last month. Nothing very serious, but bad enough to make me stay two weeks plus in bed. My dad was not there, neither was the bag of sweets, and nor was the Wii with my character (always Princess Peach) ready to lose. Those weeks in bed made me think about life. About the different stages we face throughout our time on Earth and about the importance of overcoming difficulties to get to our destination. And that was when I remembered old days playing Mario Bros with Daddy.
Let’s plug in Mario Bros. First thing: Choose your character. You are presented with a set of avatars, all of them with different physical and psychical characteristics. Once you have made your choice, the world is ready for your performance. The same happens in life. During childhood your teachers and family help you learn values, skills and abilities, your brain gets filled with knowledge, your body develops, you design your personality and your style. But this little bubble bursts at some point, and there you are, “ready” for adulthood. Ready in quotation marks because few people are actually ready. Nevertheless, once you have completed these choices, you are ready to start the game, and given your characteristics, the only thing you can do is to try your best.
Level 1, Overworld. You have finished college and you find a job. Life seems to be working well. A few Goombas come to you (paying the rent, bad days at work, friends moving to other cities…) but you know how to kill the brown little monsters, it’s only a matter of jumping right on them.
Level 2, Underground. You realize you have grown-up. Piranha Plants are invading your life, you miss those days at college and it seems like you are losing friends, spending more time at home and becoming more lonely everyday. You miss being close to your parents and loved ones, you miss having fun, and days at work start becoming long and monotonous. You know you cannot go back to your old life, and you know that if you do not overcome problems, they will overcome you, so you have to keep jumping and running to keep playing the game.
Level 3, Athletic. Life seems sunny and wonderful again. You decided to stop complaining and you got a membership at the gym, you joined Spanish lessons or you got promoted at work. You also meet someone special, Koopa Paratroopa, a cute, lovely an apparently innocent flying turtle that makes you smile again, but who will not hesitate to keep your mind busy all times, and even to attack you at any minute by arguing or breaking up.
Level 4, Castle. Your relationship with Koopa Paratroopa has worked quite well. Love overcame little arguments and tones of worrying. You really want the relationship to work out, and there you are, in front of Bowser Impostor, the big brown monster. The question is in the tip of your tongue, the ring, in your pocket. You are about to ask for marriage and you are scared. You can lose your life at any point, something can be wrong and fire columns can kill you any minute.
Do not panic. Your character has been training for this moment the whole game. You have the skills, knowledge and training to conquer the Castle and to keep going up levels. Work hard, try harder, and if finally you do not overcome the monsters, remember that life keeps going, and that you can always restart the game, choose another character and try to build a better round.