Lara Croft, Awesome Action Heroine
Growing up in the age of gaming, I was part of the generation that stayed inside to play their Atari, Game Boy, Nintendo or PlayStation.
Dolls, wooden train sets, Barbies, G-I-Joes and ball games were abandoned for action-packed adventure games to be enjoyed from the comfort of one's own bed or couch. No more hiking through the snow to reach a friend or playing ball in the pouring rain - instead we sat down, often with a drink and some crisps, and battled monsters of each and every variety.
I remember being extremely proud when I rescued Princess Peach in Super Mario 64 by defeating Bowser not once, not twice, but three times. This achievement is still the only one I can boast about, as over the years I have tried many games, but finished only this one.
One game I still want to get back to one day is Tomb Raider. I really enjoyed playing the original game when it first came out, even though it really really scared me. Instead of walking through the house at a normal pace, for a time I jogged / ran through, just as the game's heroine Lara Croft did. The scary part? I remember that I stopped playing for some time when getting past the bear scared me too much. It took several weeks of 'self-talk' before I started playing the game again!
The story of Lara Croft inspired me as a 12/13 year-old girl, and continues to inspire me to this day. I no longer run through the house or get scared by pretend bears, however the dream of having enough guts, money, skill and talent to travel the world exploring interesting places while having excellent adventures and (not to forget) enjoying myself -- that dream I most definitely still have. Lara's gun-wielding and fighting skills are pretty cool too!
I'm 28 now and while I've travelled and had adventures, I'm still no Lara Croft or Indiana Jones. I don't even know anyone like them, how strange is that! Growing up as part of the 'PlayStation Generation', I guess I'm one of those people who prefers being entertained by a book, movie or computer game instead of running for my life through a jungle being chased by bad guys, monsters or simply a rainstorm.
I used to play outside no matter what the weather was like. Snow or rain, sunshine or fog - we were always climbing trees, biking around, roller-skating, playing football or pretending to be pirates or action heroes fighting a valiant battle. We were tough little monsters, ready to brave any challenge and defend our territory from intruding children... Until all our yelling and screaming brought the parents out, of course!
We were explorers and boundary-pushers, never scared or frightened, ready to jump in the mud or the snow just because we thought it would be fun to do. We were tiny little versions of Lara Croft and Indiana Jones.
Thinking back to my childhood adventures reminds me that no matter how safe, easy, comfortable and predictable my life is these days, the part of me that enjoyed exploring and loved a challenge is still inside of me. Sure, sometimes life scares me. Sure, sometimes life gets me down. But I bite through the fear and go forward, I get back up and I keep moving. Because I know, deep inside, there's a little bit of Lara Croft telling me to seize life and make lemonade!
Dolls, wooden train sets, Barbies, G-I-Joes and ball games were abandoned for action-packed adventure games to be enjoyed from the comfort of one's own bed or couch. No more hiking through the snow to reach a friend or playing ball in the pouring rain - instead we sat down, often with a drink and some crisps, and battled monsters of each and every variety.
I remember being extremely proud when I rescued Princess Peach in Super Mario 64 by defeating Bowser not once, not twice, but three times. This achievement is still the only one I can boast about, as over the years I have tried many games, but finished only this one.
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Photo credit: Lara Croft Wiki
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The story of Lara Croft inspired me as a 12/13 year-old girl, and continues to inspire me to this day. I no longer run through the house or get scared by pretend bears, however the dream of having enough guts, money, skill and talent to travel the world exploring interesting places while having excellent adventures and (not to forget) enjoying myself -- that dream I most definitely still have. Lara's gun-wielding and fighting skills are pretty cool too!
I'm 28 now and while I've travelled and had adventures, I'm still no Lara Croft or Indiana Jones. I don't even know anyone like them, how strange is that! Growing up as part of the 'PlayStation Generation', I guess I'm one of those people who prefers being entertained by a book, movie or computer game instead of running for my life through a jungle being chased by bad guys, monsters or simply a rainstorm.
I used to play outside no matter what the weather was like. Snow or rain, sunshine or fog - we were always climbing trees, biking around, roller-skating, playing football or pretending to be pirates or action heroes fighting a valiant battle. We were tough little monsters, ready to brave any challenge and defend our territory from intruding children... Until all our yelling and screaming brought the parents out, of course!
We were explorers and boundary-pushers, never scared or frightened, ready to jump in the mud or the snow just because we thought it would be fun to do. We were tiny little versions of Lara Croft and Indiana Jones.
Thinking back to my childhood adventures reminds me that no matter how safe, easy, comfortable and predictable my life is these days, the part of me that enjoyed exploring and loved a challenge is still inside of me. Sure, sometimes life scares me. Sure, sometimes life gets me down. But I bite through the fear and go forward, I get back up and I keep moving. Because I know, deep inside, there's a little bit of Lara Croft telling me to seize life and make lemonade!
