The Game

For those of you who have been to my room/home in the last 5 years have seen the collage that decorate my wall. It's filled with crayon and watercolor scribbles. I often stare at it, looking for meaning, for order even though I know there is none. (The photo is from my sophomore year dorm. I currently have the left one still. The right one I lost track of because my friend took it to keep when we stopped living together.)

I don't know how many know the collage is the result of my bastardized version of The Game. I was introduced to The Game in high school. I think it was around my Junior year (2nd semester or summer after). My friend Sam and I started hanging out then. We read books and poetry together -- I liked reading out loud because at that time I was prideful enough to like the sound of my voice. I started getting to know her family and her friends. She told me about the Blackwells and about her boyfriend's family. One day, she said to me we should play The Game. I like the way she says it: both words are enunciated such that you can hear the capital letters; you can also hear her anticipation and excitement. Once you've heard her say it, there will never be any doubt which game she is talking about.


I had no idea what The Game meant. She explained. Apparently, two of her friend made it up (Jillian who I sometimes call Nail because her name spelled backwards is Naillij and Allie, who I don't interact with often but am fond of). The concept is simple: collaborative art. Everyone has a part of a piece of paper. You start drawing or coloring and after a while, you rotate the paper. When everyone agrees the piece is done, that particular game is over. According to Sam, the game is usually very chill and nice and mellow. I took it and turned it territorial, hyperactive, and stressful. Go figure. For me, it was the thrill of changes and spontaneity that made The Game awesome.


When college started, stress piled up. Second semester freshman year, I started playing the game with crayons and watercolors in hopes of destressing myself. I gathered some artistically inclined friends and we played The Game. I don't know if I told them all the back stories though. We played it on 8 1/2 x 11 printer paper, and before I knew it, I had a giant stack of them. That's when I decided to turn it into a collage. I saved it for my room sophomore year.

I don't see Sam much anymore, mostly because I went to college and then graduate school. This week I dropped by her place and she insisted we play. Sam, Jax (her sister), and I played. This was the end result. I think, of the three of us, Jax is the most artistic one. :) And yes, there is a topless Gorgon screaming on the page. Blame Jax.

<3
Hao