The princess was on another planet, but I didn’t know that. All I knew was that I had to make my way to the top of this mountain without dying… again. I had played through this level at least ten times now, each with just a fraction of progress. I was getting mad, but I didn’t want to put down the controller because I was afraid that there wouldn’t be a princess left to save, or at the least, that she would be even on yet a different planet when I came back.

The longer I wrote, the more I thought. The more I thought, the more I realized that I didn’t want to write a story, I didn’t want to write a poem, or a book or a song or anything. What I wanted to do, was inspire. I wanted to inspire someone to dream, just like I did when I played that game so long ago. I wanted people to see my work, and think to themselves: “Wow, I wish I could be in a world like that.” I want people to put themselves in the place of my character and change the story to their liking, I want activate people’s imaginations and let it run wild in my playground. I want others, to enjoy the childhood they have, whether they’re still a child or not.

1. Explain why you chose this opening/closing combo.
I chose this combination because I start with a little story of how absorbed I became in the game and that's ultimately what I want when people read my stories, I want people to say that they could imagine themselves in my world doing just as the focus character would.

2. How does it tie together your big ideas?
Imagining more to a world that was created for you is probably the most enjoyable thing that a person can do. Have you ever watched a movie and thought to yourself, "What if I was in this movie? What would I do differently from the protagonist? I always thought about what it'd be like if I were the protagonist and how I would fight and what I'd do differently. I wrap it up by expressing the fact that I want people to feel the same way when they read my pieces.

3. Explain the types of thoughts that you hope your reader has when they are done reading your work.
I hope that the reader will start experimenting, if you will, with the way I see movies, games and stories. I hope that people will begin to think, "Hey, what if I was the protagonist instead of them? What would I do in their situation?