Last year around this time of year I lost a close friend named Arthur not to cancer, but to heart disease. His family asked those close to him to donate instead of offering any condolences. I choose to donate to this charity not because of the cause, but because of those of you at SDA. Growing up, video games were forbidden by his parents. Having matured at an early age and being an eccentric who was never afraid to be himself, he had trouble making friends. We met 11 years ago in grade 9 and, after many visits after school, my friends and I exposed him to the magic of video games. He. Was. Awful. But he loved every second of it. He never felt ashamed whenever he crossed the finish line last or lost all his lives first. Over the next 10 years he would come to learn his way around a controller and when he moved out, even got an XBox of his own. He was blown away when he downloaded Portal (for free! Thanks Valve!) and it took away his entire weekend. It felt great to be able to chat with him about his experience with video games not as a mentor and a pupil, but as equals. It was around this time when he was taken from us. This is why I'd like to make him a part of the world of video games one more time by naming Cloud in FF7 after him. Gone but not forgotten, this one's for you Arthur.
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