Game Over

By Chinedu Okolie, Umuahia, Nigeria 

My name is Chinedu, and I am fifteen years old. If there is one thing I regret deeply, it is how I let video games nearly ruin my future.

It all started innocently. My friend Emeka introduced me to his elder brother’s PlayStation at the beginning of JSS 3. At first, I only played on weekends after football practice, but soon I was sneaking out every evening, spending hours in the game shop down the street. I told myself it was just for fun, a way to relax. But little by little, I became hooked.

Assignments piled up, untouched. My textbooks gathered dust while I memorized cheat codes and high scores. My mother would shout:

“Chinedu! Go and read your books. BECE is around the corner!”

But I would reply, “I will read later, Mummy. Just one more round.”

One more round turned into two, then five. Before I knew it, midnight would meet me in front of the glowing screen at the shop, my eyes red and my mind buzzing with pixels.

When the day of the Basic Education Certificate Examination came, I sat in the hall staring at the papers. The questions looked like they were written in another language. Mathematics that I once knew like the back of my hand had suddenly become strange. I struggled, sweated, and guessed my way through.

Months later, the results came. My heart pounded as I opened the envelope.

English: C6.

Mathematics: F9.

Basic Science: D7.

Social Studies: E8.

The rest were not better.

I felt my chest tighten. My mother cried. My father didn’t speak to me for two whole days. The shame was unbearable. Friends who had been serious with their studies were moving on, while I was advised to repeat JSS 3.

That period of my life taught me bitter lessons. I realized that while video games are not evil by themselves, anything taken without control can destroy you. I had allowed a hobby to become an addiction. Instead of being the master of the game, the game mastered me.

I remember sitting alone one evening, watching the sun set, and whispering to myself: Chinedu, is this how you want your story to end? A bright boy reduced to failure because of a joystick?

From that day, I changed. I cut down on games, restricted myself to weekends only, and focused on my books. I discovered balance—work first, then play. The following year, I passed my BECE with good grades.

Now, whenever I see younger boys crowding in the game shop, shouting over FIFA or Mortal Kombat, I smile sadly. I tell them:

“Play, but don’t let it play you. The joystick can give you joy, but it cannot give you a future. Only your books can do that.”

Moral Lessons from My Story

1. Addiction steals your future – no matter how fun it feels now, uncontrolled habits always come with regret.

2. Balance is key – hobbies are fine, but education must come first.

3. Listen to your parents and teachers. Their warnings are not to spoil your fun but to secure your tomorrow.

4. Failure can be a teacher – my poor results became the turning point that reshaped my priorities.

Today, I look back and say with confidence: life is not a video game. There is no restart button. You must play it wisely from the start.