Tasha Dhanraj is the queen of time wasting

I’ve recently unearthed my old PlayStation 2 from under a pile of rubble and Christmas baubles. It might be covered in dust and make very peculiar whirring noises, but it still works perfectly. This has been very dangerous. I’m meant to be preparing for my imminent start at Oxford University. I have over two hundred Ancient Greek words to learn. I’m supposed to be reading books about Theology whilst the last book I read was a collection of poems by A.A Milne, and believe me that was several hundreds of pages shorter than what is currently on my bookshelf.

Really, I couldn’t have rekindled my love for the game Soulcalibur at a worse time. I have far more important things to be doing than killing evil ninjas with virtual nunchuks and yet that is what I have spent the last week doing. I even stayed up until 2am yesterday just so I could unlock a character called Amy whose only weapon is a tiny sword.

I’ve not played the game for so long, it is strange how it all came flooding back to me. The only difference is when I was playing it with my friends when I was 14 I felt cool for having the latest gadget and being so skilled at bashing buttons on a controller. Now I’m 19 and all I feel is shame. I know I should be doing something more with my life, and yet this is how I spend my time.

I’ve worked out what the appeal is, though. It’s the only way I’m achieving anything. I’ve spent the last three months doing nothing but going to Waitrose and turning up uninvited to my cousin’s house. I got into Oxford over eight months ago now. I received my IB results a year ago. I’ve been in a stalemate with my own life. What have I got to show for this year off other than a few pictures of a disappointing holiday to Thailand and an empty bank balance? Soulcalibur gives me something to be proud of. Now, I have over 100,000 mystical coins and a new bonus character called Cervantes.

“I have far more important things to be doing than killing evil ninjas with virtual nunchucks ”

Yes, those coins might be completely worthless in the real world and Cervantes might be a fictional axe-wielding pirate, and yes, I have far, far more important things to be doing, but for those few hours a day that I play Soulcalibur, I feel like the queen. The queen of a pointless, time consuming game that my boyfriend is better at than me.