Tetris: A Game of Falling Bricks or Life?

Tick. Tick. Followed by the sound of an air compressor as the square falls into place. Growing up I was always a huge fan of the game "Tetris". I remember racing my siblings home from the bus stop at the end of the neighborhood just to secure a spot at the computer, watching those four bricks fall, constructing a new form that only I had power over. I am not completely sure what the special aspect was that lured me into the game: was it the challenge of keeping the blocks as low as possible? Maybe it was the knowledge that as I progressed through the levels my skills would be tested and I would be able to improve on my abilities. Or it may have just been that I was a grade school student who frequently got bored and decided to put his effort into something less useful than harvesting an ant farm. At least this is the type of things I would hear from the others that were in such desperate need to instant message their friends on the computer. But to me, Tetris was more than a game. 

 

(Picture via www.classicgame.com)

It sounds silly but everytime I began a new round of that classic arcade game I felt locked in and focused, ready to make the most sensible patterns. This is where Tetris diverted from an after school hobby and I could relate it to life. Our opportunities that we are provided with throughout our daily lives are represented by these cascading figures; it relies on us to make the correct choices and merge these pieces together into a solid line across. When all is going well in my life, I tend to live in the moment and enjoy each of the comfortable fixtures that surround me, making me a happy guy. On the other hand, there are always the times when you need a straight line and the awaiting piece is a square. 

Nobody's life is full of all positive experiences. Each of us makes mistakes and, when we do, we are forced into living with the consequences. I hated covering over that singular open space in an almost completed line and beginning to finish the next one. Yes, my mistakes are a burden and affect the simplicity that life may have and it is in these times that I often, just as the game does, allow for the completed and happy memories to simply vanish. However, it is at these times of adversity that I am able to confront the issue and create a new path that will not only fulfill the task I have at hand but also the missing piece from the prior line. 

Many people look and see nothing but a naive kids wasting his time on a foolish game. I feel sorry for these people. Although it is just a video game, I have learned and grown from my experiences with Tetris. A competition stocked with strategy, excitement, thrill, disappointments, and eventually the dreaded "game over". Who would have imagined I would discover so much from four blocks.