How Board Games Have Shaped My Perspective by Ethan

How Board Games Have Shaped My Perspective by Ethan - February 2020 Scholarship Essay

What do you think of when someone asks you to play a board game? Do you think of Risk, Monopoly, or The Game of Life? That’s what I thought until a few years ago when my neighbor opened my eyes to thousands of “Eurogames”: typically complex, strategic tabletop games that require an understanding of the winning requirements and developing a plan that will meet those criteria. They can be very long, requiring patience and in-depth strategies and can even include open communication and trading between players. As a result of playing these board games, I realized that I have an understanding of the many ways to win the game and that the strategy changes or evolves based on what other players are doing.
When my neighbor first introduced me to these games, he was preparing for a tournament for the game Puerto Rico at the largest board game convention in the U.S. called GenCon. More than 60,000 people from around the world convene in Indianapolis to learn about the newest games, meet other people, and, of course, compete in tournaments. My neighbor convinced my family that we should attend the convention since we had all become interested in these games. Things did not work out for my neighbor in the tournament; but believe it or not, after several rounds of intense competition, I was crowned the 2016 GenCon World Champion of Puerto Rico!
Winning that first tournament when I was definitely the underdog in a room full of life-long gamers gave me a huge sense of accomplishment and got me hooked onto Eurogames forever. I’ve learned to take advantage of opportunities that arise and that you need both a long term plan and a short term plan are necessary to effectively compete. Perhaps most importantly, I have realized that sometimes it is necessary to change one’s perspective on both plans based on the environment. When I first adopted this idea, my whole view of life changed, from doing things day by day and becoming stressed about small things to worrying less and focusing on what matters in life. My long-term goal, for example, is to graduate college and get a job, eventually branching out and starting my own company. My short term goal is getting prepared for college and getting into the college that will best prepare me for completing my long-term goal.
After researching how to put these ideas into action and achieve these goals, I’ve taken advantage of many different opportunities including The Governor’s Scholar Program(GSP), Louisville Academy, and Forgotten Louisville. While I have taken advantage of these opportunities, I believe it’s important to create your own opportunities in life. One way I have accomplished this is by starting a computer’s assistance program at my great grandma’s nursing home after I noticed that she was having trouble accessing medication receipts and forms online. Beginning this program has opened my eyes to the many different ways that I can have an impact community, even at a young age. The idea behind setting up this program was to help out my community, while also getting experience in leadership, creativity, and problem solving.