How Mario Kart saved me by Elizabeth

How Mario Kart saved me by Elizabeth - May 2022 Scholarship Essay

The countdown has begun. Three - I feel like I am about to burst from all of the anticipation and excitement and nervousness inside of me. Two - I start my engines almost immediately in hopes of gaining some small advantage against everyone else. One - any moment now...GO!

Every time I play Mario Kart, whether it be by myself to beat a personal record or battling against friends, that is how the start of each race plays out. The adrenaline rush at the beginning of each race is intoxicating, and I guess that is what got me hooked on Mario Kart from a young age. One of my earliest memories include my family coming over to my house for birthday parties and holidays when I was in elementary school, and during these gatherings, my cousins and I would always head immediately to our Wii console and play Mario Kart together. I was always the person that came in last every single time, and at one point I decided that I was sick of being the worst player in the group and started practicing Mario Kart constantly. After several hours during weekends and between school work, my determination and persistence paid off. Eventually, I was not only beating all of my cousins every time they came over, but I also was able to beat the hardest computer generated racers in the game. Flash forward to modern day, I am now about to become a high school senior and I still play Mario Kart with friends and family. Mario Kart is a significant part of my childhood that has carried over through the years and is a part of my life even now.

Even though some view Mario Kart as "just a video game," to me, it is so much more than that. Mario Kart has consistently been a means to connect with the people around me, from a way for a young elementary school kid to be included with her cousins, to a way now to forge new friendships and make existing ones stronger. When I first started high school, I joined the high school marching band. I was never a very social nor outgoing person, but a tradition on the bus rides to marching band competitions was to play Mario Kart on the DS on the way there and back. This was not only a fun and memorable experience, but it also helped me open up to people I might not have interacted with otherwise. I made several friends throughout my time participating in marching band, many of whom have graduated and gone off to college, and experiences as simple as playing Mario Kart on the bus helped me interact with these people and create strong relationships that last even now.

COVID-19 and the shutdown that happened because of it had a huge impact on so many people, myself included. My whole life stopped immediately and not being able to see my friends and family or go to school was devastating and heartbreaking. Of all things, Mario Kart ended up being a way to connect with my friends and even others I did not know that well while I was imprisoned in my house. One night turned into many, and Mario Kart provided me with a way to talk to and have some fun and competition with friends during a time where everything seemed to be falling apart. My math teacher even got involved when he discovered that several of my friends, whom he had as students, were having weekly Mario Kart competitions. Even after reopening efforts have been enacted, my friends and I still come together and play Mario Kart as a way to pass the time and socialize with each other.

Throughout my life, Mario Kart has played an essential role in connecting with friends, family, and strangers. Starting in elementary school and continuing on through now, Mario Kart has been so much more than a video game, and has allowed me to strengthen and create the friendships I have now.