TL;DR -- Photography, Salsa, Toastmasters -- all 3 have added value to my life, and despite the naysayers, its a very interesting life.

I started gaming around 6 or 7 years old.

We always had a NES, Ninentdo 64, Dreamcast, Playstation 2, Xbox, Xbox One, Ps4, you name. My dad always had this genuine desire to buy video games for me and my siblings. Even when he moved our nephews into our house, he dropped $450 on a Ps4 to keep these two preteens preoccupied.

I was in a danger zone, and I have been for the last decade.

From the moment I started playing Halo 3 in 2007, I immediately became addicted to the instant gratification. And it has been this way for nearly the last 10 years. I measured this up to me being irresponsible, and not taking care of my own priorities.

I would routinely skip class to play Xbox Live all morning, and leave in the afternoon

Video games are cool, but how cool are they? Who wants to hear me talk about ranking up in Grand Theft Auto 3? Who wants to hear me talk about finishing Red Dead Redemption 2 in 48 hours?

No one...

One thing I observed, when I shrugged off going to the gym (it was bullshit anyway), I had a desire to pickup on different hobbies to make my life more interesting and my life changed.

I created a vested interest in doing more outside of LA Fitness. The reality of it was, I would go to to the gym, throw on my headphones, do my workout, and leave. I had no desire to interact with anyone because I stuck to my workout regimen.

Photography

I said fuck it. I spent about $500 on a camera, and started pursuing a creative hobby. I got tired of feeling like I wasn't meeting new people and creating a new network. This was my medium to meeting new people, and in the process, I ended up hooking up with one of the "models" from our monthly photography meetups here in DC.

I have been doing photography since 2016.

Salsa/Bachata

This is a tough one, but the latin dance community can either be very unforgiving, or force you to constantly step outside your comfort zone. I did just that. After attending my very first Salsa congress, I met at least a dozen people, and ended up hooking up with 1 woman I met a little less than a month ago.

I started doing photography in June of 2018.

Toastmasters

The anxiety of having to speak at family gatherings, work related conferences, and holding a basic conversation, I struggled. To fight this, I signed up for public speaking workshops. Through this, I found myself being able to loosely carry conversation with enthusiasm. I knew and understood more about how to convey a message aside from speaking it. I became more deadly in body language, posture, and eye contact.

This added more to my resume, because I was now able to convey myself in a more positive and outward manner.

I started doing Toastmasters in July of 2017.

Wrapping up

I mention these three, because I started 2 out of the 3 mentioned pre-RP. In the process of development, I became so entangled with fixing a ruined 7 year relationship I hardly recognized that what I was doing, made my life interesting.

Mom and Dad, they both sat on the couch, ate sweet potato pie, and watched television while I learned to pursue creative hobbies. And I didn't even know people would find what I was doing actually interesting.

After becoming RP'd, I started giving myself credit for what I was doing, and understanding, yes, I do live an active lifestyle.