Jotter Books

When I was young, I was an extremely introverted kid... I don't really have many clear memories of my life then, but from what I can remember, I didn't frequently interact with people in conventional ways...

My sister reminded me of a hobby I used to have during primary school. Apparently, I would draw adventure mazes in my school-issued jotter books, complete with traps, monsters,treasures and bags of money with big '$' signs on them. After remembering about those days, I started to remember that I often invited my classmates to play my little book-drawn RPG. Hahah.

I suppose it was the enjoyment of adventure books and RPGs which led me to exercise my creativity in such a manner. And I guess that my classmates were willing to play with me as well because we simply didn't have anything else to do at the time (though of course my maze must have been loads of fun, in any case).

Today the kids have an endless flood of technology, toys, and electronic games to entertain them. I'm sure that 99% of them would mock and scoff at my humble jotter book adventure. That's fine though. Before jotter books kids played with pebbles and dirt in the ground. The medium changes but the spirit of play remains the same.

What does worry me however, is how the kids of today will exercise their creative urge. How will they find a way to bring their own creative yearnings to fruition in the classroom? The problem isn't a lack of creative content to appreciate; every generation has its own source of creatively stimulating games and stories. The problem (given that there are still kids that might enjoy playing creatively) now is that kids no longer have immediate access to the tools that could allow them to even begin creating things that approximate the objects they enjoy (The 'Angry Birds' and 'Solomon's Graveyards' that are popular today). Back in my day *cough*, we had pencils and jotter books. Now there are iphones, ipads, and smartphones. The jotter book of today is there but there is no pencil.

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As a long-time and hardcore gamer, I do think that game addiction does deserve its stigmatizing label. Games, while holding the potential for great good, can also be very self-destructive to the user if played excessively. In spite of this, I can't help but wonder at how people cannot see why they are addictive.

It is said that babies are full of wonder towards life, that even the simplest button or chew toy can hold their attention for hours at a time. We don't say that babies are addicted to chew toys. Reality is new to them; the perception of it utterly entrancing and absorbing.

How is it different when we experience completely new realities and dynamics through computer screens and game consoles? Simply put, it isn't. Not in itself. Just like babies can grow out of chew toys, boys and girls can grow out of computer games and go from complete absorption to a moderated appreciation/admiration for these beautifully crafted worlds.

The problem then, is not that kids get absorbed by their games, but that some never grow out of it, and some get too absorbed during their impressionable youth at the cost of their studies and academic life (something, which though rightly so, is forced on them by circumstance and society). This is what we have to fix, rather than games themselves.

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green fleur-de-lis

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a beaming white jewel in the sky

silver grey and bronze sky

pudgy as the pig

the wretched conditions of its birth