Magic Cards 2002

Magic or "Magic The Gathering", as it is officially called, is a trading card game in which players summon creatures and cast spells to defeat their opponents. It is comparable to other trading card games, like Yugi-Oh, in that there is a set number of life points that must be depleted in order to end the game, their are monster cards that have specific attack and defense points, and different card effects and abilities. However, I always found magic to be much more in depth than any other trading card game. It had been around for ten years when I got into it and had extremely complex game play; it was comprised of thousands of unique cards each with its very own characteristics. Furthermore, each card had a brilliantly drawn picture on it, only adding to the allure.

I became enthralled with the world of magic, in fifth grade, meticulously reviewing my collection, improving decks, and often playing against myself. I felt an intense sense of challenge in the vastness of the game and I was determined and delighted to master it. I was the best player at the Boys and Girls Club; I only found my match at the Friday night tournaments of local trading card shops. It wasn't until I stopped attending the Boys and Girls Club, my seventh grade year, that I ceased to play magic. It was partly because I didn't have anybody to play it with anymore, and also because I was "growing out of it", so to speak. Magic was probably my first obsession and the first time I was alerted to my addictive personality which is caused, in part, by my ADHD. I would literally not eat breakfast in order to play with my magic cards sooner. The same thing happened later on with video games. The amount of time I spent with the cards left a big imprint on my memory which I will never erase.

Aside from the time and money put to waste by my Magic addiction, one positive aspect of the ordeal was an improved vocabulary and imagination. One might notice, while browsing a selection of Magic cards, that the language and themes of it are not directly targeting 7 to 9-year-olds as much as they are 10 to 15-year-olds. In fifth grade, we would have weekly semi-class-constructed vocabulary lists; I would offer up such words as: behemoth, endemic, doppelganger, threshold, ornithopter, and anarchist. This contributed to the wide vocabulary that I now possess. The fantastical nature of the card game, opened my mind to new words as well as ideas. Creatures like elves, dwarves, zombies, sorcerers, and goblins expanded my imagination. Not to mention the art of creating a deck; and using different card combinations to make it effective. Magic encouraged me to be more accepting of new ideas and to create and change with time; thereby helping me to adapt to the everchanging world in which we live.