Only one thing matters to me right now: winning. I stare intensely at the computer screen, one sweat-covered hand clicking the mouse, and the other, rapidly pressing buttons on my keyboard. While doing so, I discuss the game plan with my teammates. They are alongside me and are as important to me as my own skills. Sweat drips down the side of my face. My teammates sweat too. Tensions are high.

Twenty, thirty, forty minutes pass by, and we finally achieve our goal — victory. Suddenly, every single second I spent playing this game feels entirely worth it. This is what it is like to play in a League of Legends tournament. Our win did not come without a price. I had to sacrifice something I had embraced, loved, and nurtured my whole life — my ego.

Believe it or not, this game has taught me a tremendous number of lessons that are applicable to my normal, daily situations. Now, you might ask, how does a game, which takes place on a computer screen and is played for mere amusement, teach you any sort of life lesson?

I remember back my adolescent years in the fifth grade, where I was first introduced to League of Legends by my friend. At first, the game seemed pointless and, to be honest, extremely boring. 

If you are not familiar with this video game, you play in a team with four other players. You all fight together, as a team, to achieve a common objective in order to win. Being only ten years old at the time, and known as one of the smarter kids, I was used to doing all the work in most projects or games myself. I was not able to grasp the concept of teamwork. Just like the many group projects I was assigned in my younger years, my playstyle in this game reflected my huge ego. My real-life mannerisms of continually attempting to do everything by myself and neglecting the help of others would keep me from performing well or becoming a skilled player. 

I had a mindset that I could do anything better than anyone else could, even the more experienced players! I soon learned that my playstyle was what made the game seem boring to me, as I repeatedly died over and over again in the game due to my inability to work alongside my team. 

 I quickly understood that League of Legends was actually unplayable if I continued this habit of playing alone, not trusting others, and not being part of a team. However, grasping that truth was easier than actually changing my anti teamwork habit. 

It didn’t happen overnight, but I was gradually able to understand how playing with a team was not only the way to win but was the best approach. Still, I kept clinging to my belief that I was smarter and better than my teammates. I kept refusing their help. I honestly believed that everything would be better if they just let me do it all. I told them, and myself, I could do it without their help. What I thought was my greatest strength — not needing others, and refusing their help — was actually my greatest weakness. In the real world, that mindset often worked for me. I was very reluctant to let it go. In the game, however, it didn’t; everything was different there. 

Being new and just being introduced to the game, I was very evidently not one of the best players. This was how I was able to recognize that the help of my teammates was imperative if I wanted to win. At first, learning how to adapt to playing as part of a team only helped me in terms of staying alive, doing well in the game, and winning. I soon realized that what I learned in this game could be translated into situations in real life. I had a sudden realization that there was a myriad of people smarter and more knowledgeable than me. If I wanted to win, I realized, I should learn how to trust and accept other people’s help in other areas. 

I learned to be a team player in the game, and, likewise, in real life. I was soon able to open up to and accept the help of others. I managed to push my ego aside and understand that not everything was possible to do on my own. In group projects, I not only learned to accept others’ help but I was also able to delegate work amongst my teammates. I had learned to trust that each of them would do the work that I had assigned them and not try to do it all myself. I don’t think I could have learned this lesson without the game because the game is fast, intense, and happens in a different kind of time. It’s repetitive and it reinforces the lesson over and over. If you aren’t a team player, you don’t win. In real life, projects such a lessons would take months, or years. Through experiences and situations such as the game provides, I was able to learn and apply this valuable lesson. By originally acquiring this insight through a game and then transferring that awareness to real life, I was able to improve myself as a person.

Today, I rank in the top 0.1% of players on the continent in skill levels for League of Legends. This was only achievable through learning, using, and consciously applying the lessons I learned from the game. Some people say games are a waste of time, but I say they are valuable schools for important life skills. I was not only able to succeed in the video game world, but in real life, where such lessons as teamwork, delegating tasks, and learning to trust your team are critical skills to have.