You’ve been in this scenario before.
You’re at work on Monday morning after an awesome all-day gaming session yesterday. You head to the coffee machine and your boss greets you while he finishes putting cream and sugar in his little Styrofoam cup. “So what’d you do this weekend?” he asks. Uh-oh. None of your coworkers knows you play D&D, and you don’t want to lie. Do you brush it off with a witty retort, or do you tell your boss that you spent the day gaming with your buddies?
As acceptable as Dungeons and Dragons has become as a somewhat mainstream pop culture icon in the last decade or so, the fact remains that there are a lot of people who still view the game as some creepy, anti-social fringe hobby that is only played by awkward, comic-convention-attending Star Trek fans living in their parents’ basements. Unfortunately, many of these people are your bosses, family members, clients, pastors, and others in positions of relative power with whom you want to remain in good standing. At what point, if ever, should you let these people know about your pastime?
I’ll admit to not telling people right off the bat. Until I began writing this blog, I usually waited at least a few weeks to even mention it, and even then, it really depended upon the person in question. Here’s my reasoning:
Because of common preconceived notions about D&D perpetuated by the media over the last few decades, I want to ensure that people I meet get an accurate idea of who I am as a person before I share that information. I want them to see that I am a pretty cool guy, that I am fairly responsible and industrious, and that I am outgoing and conversational. Letting someone get to know you reasonably well will help prevent unwarranted comparisons to Screech, or the cast of Freaks and Geeks.
I certainly would not recommend actively hiding your gamer status or lying about it. I just think there is no reason to mention it too early if nobody asks. So what are your thoughts? Do you shout it from the rooftops? Do you actively try to keep it secret? I’m interested in other opinions.
No comments:
Post a Comment