Matt Willingham 
“You’re turnin’ into a zombie. That game is gonna rot your brain!” – My grandmother
If you’re like me, you probably grew up with parents or grandparents who were wary of video gaming. Maybe they didn’t use dramatic words like ‘rot’ and ‘zombie’ when referring to you, but you’ve probably heard something similar. And let’s face it, excessive staring and button-mashing isn’t good for anyone. I’ve had friends who got so hopelessly addicted to video games that they lost touch with reality. They quit bathing and lived off nothing but Taco Bell for weeks on end. It wasn’t pretty.
But despite the potential pitfall (another amazing game) I owe a lot to video games.
Yep, you heard me right. If it weren’t for them, how else would I have learned random SAT words like “falchion” or “pwn”? Or how would I know that guys can still look manly in a tunic and tights so long as they’re swinging a gigantic sword; or that Italian plumbers are the ultimate solution to any hostage situation?
For everything video games taught me, though, I never really used them to benefit anyone. Sure, I invited people over to play Halo on my birthday, but I mostly did that because I was tired of the single-player campaign. But this August 5th, Hardmode.org is hosting an online video game party that will actually save lives. And these lives aren’t virtual. There aren’t any ‘extra’ lives for these kids. They get one shot at life, and it’ll take place in Iraq on an operating table. So check out the poster below to see how your thumbs can be used to heal hearts!
