In retrospect when I look back to Ohio Regionals 2016, it definitely changed my life for the better. I wouldn’t have met my boyfriend, I wouldn’t have experienced real life VGC competitions, and I wouldn’t have gotten to dive head-first into the community. And while I’ll say it was scary, and intimidating, and just downright frustrating, I was definitely happy that I went.
	I mean, there’s no point in me giving details. I’m no VGC genius, and I sure don’t place like it. I placed 48th and didn’t Day 2. You hear all these great stories about VGC players winning their first competitions and being hooked afterwards. Well, that isn’t me. I’m just some random scrub who ended up dating a guy who Day 2’d Worlds and knew a lot of people in the community.
	But anyways, you probably don’t wanna hear my life story so I’ll just talk about Nats. Since it was my first competition outside of, like, one PC, I was scared shitless. If you had seen me there, I looked calm and whatever. On the outside, I looked pretty level-headed. But on the inside, I was a nervous wreck. I was worried if I’d embarrass myself (which trust me, I did) and all sorts of shit. But to be honest, I think my biggest issue with my first event was loneliness. Going in there, I had no expectations. I thought no one knew anyone and we were all strangers. I was quickly proven wrong, however, as I realized that at least 75% of these players knew each other and talked to each other. It was very quickly that I saw that I was an outsider who knew no one.
	And, in all honest, I felt really lonely. I have never been a social person, and I still am not now, even though I have a boyfriend. I don’t have any friends in school, and until very recently, I didn’t have any friends in the VGC community either. Just going through Nats felt just a little bit lonely, since the only people I knew there were in Masters division, and I was a last year Senior. But going through each battle, it really was a roller coaster. And the funny thing is I hate roller coasters. My first match I wanted to kick myself, I was so angry. It was against Dale Causey and I didn’t see the Magic Coat coming, even though I ran Magic Coat on Cress and should’ve seen it a million miles away. I don’t remember the names of anyone after who I faced, but the excitement of Nats was still amazing.
	Throughout the entire event, I felt a different emotion at every battle. Frustration, joy, anger, sadness, despair, and finally triumph. Some of my opponents scared me, and some I felt eternal gratitude for. Like round three, I was against this strange boy with blue painted fingernails. My 3DS started dying in the middle of the match. He could’ve timer-stalled be, but he didn’t. And I won. And when he shook my hand, there wasn’t an ounce of malice in his gaze.
	In the end, Nats was absolutely amazing and definitely changed my life for the better. If I didn’t go to Nats, I wouldn’t have met my boyfriend and I wouldn’t have made any friends. VGC has opened up a whole new world for me. And even though it’s been quite a while since Nats happened, I just have to say…
	KEYS OUT FOR WOLFEY!!!