Oblivion Review

Everyone of a certain age experiences something magical. They're sitting there, just going along in their life, then it hits them. Or rather, someone hits them. Their first crush. A person's first crush can be a fleeting thing or it can affect their romantic relationship for the rest of their life. My first crush was with a girl named Delany.

Delany remains the archetype for the kind of woman I pursue today. Delany was smart, my intellectual superior. Delany was beautiful, classically beautiful but not overtly sexy. Finally, Delany was kind, after all, she actually spoke to me.

For years I pined over Delany. Admiring her from afar, occasionally getting close, but never actually making my feelings known to her. Eventually, as many things go, we went our separate ways. In the years since, I thought that I had fully purged myself of feelings for Bethany and moved on to women I could actually approach romantically. Recently all of that was proven false.

Not too long ago, I joined Facebook. One of the first things I did was look for people I might know on Facebook. Among the first people that popped up was Delany. Again, I was awash in feelings for this woman. Along with these old feeling was a new internalized hatred over not pulling the trigger and not getting to know Delany romantically. I was thoroughly and utterly depressed.

This depression caused an alteration in my everyday routine. My life became a pathetic pattern. Work, home, TiVo, video games, sleep. Among the many video games I own is The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. In my mind, I began to draw parallels between my relationship with Oblivion and my relationship with Delany. I had long wanted to play this game. I was aware of the great aspects of this game, and thought I might thoroughly enjoy it. Unlike my relationship with Delany, I pulled the trigger and experienced an enjoying life with Oblivion. This experience caused my spirits to rise, and my depression to fade away.

There is another way my relationship with Oblivion is different from my relationship with Delany. The further I delve into Oblivion, the more I enjoy it. The same can't be said of Delany. On her Facebook profile, Delany prominently displays her support for California's Proposition 8, something that I greatly oppose. When I read this I thought to myself, "Maybe it's a good thing I didn't pursue this woman."

Oblivion: A-