Tanna T at Teapunknoveling.blogspot.com is my guest today. She describes herself as:
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Anthropologist by trade, writer by inclination. Avid reader, gamer, and an eternal student of languages. An INFJ Ravenclaw.**
Pokemon Go (Gently) and Health
I am a writer.
I am a gamer.
I have Cerebral Palsy.
I use Pokemon Go to benefit my physical and mental health.
I was the last kid picked in kickball, and the first one targeted in dodgeball. I always got “valuable attitude” awards and not “valuable player” awards. But, this isn’t about the fake, golden trophies you receive when playing sports. It’s about the fact that my body doesn’t always listen to what my brain tells it to do. Even on my best days, my body falls short of my expectations.
It’s hard to explain what it’s like when I want to zig but my body zags, and when “just a little farther” feels like a painful eternity. I didn’t talk about Cerebral Palsy for a long time, because I’ve spent my entire life running from it or brushing it under the rug. I was a master at hiding my condition and its complications (for the most part).
I felt guilty bringing it up, often thinking, “Who am I to complain when others have it far worse than I do?”
I stayed silent because I could not find others like myself.
Every time I go out, I risk tripping or injuring myself in some way. But, I don’t have to worry about that when I play video games, and that’s why I’ve always been drawn to them. I use my brain to achieve greatness, and my disability is put on hold (to an extent).
The characters I play have no limits—-therefore I have no limits. I am immersed in the gameplay, forgetting that my very muscles tend to work against me. Pokemon provided me with the chance to be a “normal” kid: I could walk longer, I could throw and hit my mark every time, and I could ride a bike straight off ledges if I wanted. The possibilities were endless, and I was hooked.
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| An area near me with great Pokes and great walks. |
Cue years passing, and I’m now an adult. I am still a gamer and a writer, and these outlets help me with the things I’m confronted with in my life.
But I struggled to keep active. My thoughts contained kernels of fear and hesitation like:
Why keep up a walking regiment if I’ll wake up wanting to cry from muscle and bone pain that night?
Why should I go hiking if I will stumble and fall, bleed and bruise?
Why even try when I will only hold others back?
Why even bother?
When Pokemon Go came out, writing about adventures was not enough. Finally, I could go on my own journey. Hooray!
For those who are unfamiliar with the game, Pokemon Go requires players to walk around, going to real-life locations to “catch” Pokemon, get items at “Pokestops” and compete with others at “gyms.”
But when others shared their experience with Pokemon Go, my insecurities and doubts wormed their way back into my heart. I couldn’t “play” the game as well as others… and I was that little girl who struggled to hit a ball from a tee-ball stand all over again.
Enter the Twitter hashtag #PokemonGoGently.
#PokemonGoGently and Disability
For the initial few days after the app’s release, I looked forward to traversing my backyard, and eventually ventured around my neighborhood streets. But when I read the sheer number of physical feats that others were performing, I questioned my abilities again.
Then a Twitter friend of mine responded to one of my tweets using the tag #PokemonGoGently, and curiosity gripped me instantly. I inquired about this interesting concept, and found a group of like-minded individuals in return.
This tag originated from two friends, Rachel Sharp and Tiffany Rose, as a way to connect those with chronic illnesses and disabilities to Pokemon Go. Rachel Sharp commented on the tag, writing, “#PokemonGoGently seemed to include the travel mode of a wide variety of chronically ill/disabled Twitter, and also referenced ‘not going gently into that good night,’ as in refusing to give up (on our dreams of catching little imaginary monsters).”
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Please go to http://teapunknoveling.blogspot.com/2016/07/pokemon-go-gently-and-health.html
For the rest of this excellent blog.
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You can find my YouTube video on PokemonGo here. http://www.russelllittleauthor.com/pokemon-go-hits-houston/
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Writing group blog http://www.russelllittleauthor.com/joi-marias-blog-a-little-praise-for-writing-groups/
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Murder For Me video here https://youtu.be/0fYzTOz8Q6E