So where am I now? Since then, my wife and I had a child who is now 3 years old. I have had a couple of odd freelance jobs since then, but a lot of time has been spent with my child and finishing my last season as an English teacher. In my free time, I spend most of it creating. I have made small prototypes and levels. My current personal project is a Halo 3: ODST level which you can follow here. This coming year I plan to make yet another big change. My goal is to get a job as a full-time level designer, so this means I will be moving back to the US with my family.
Although my journey has been odd and strange and goes against pretty much everyone’s standard, I have found that this was the path I was supposed to take. I don’t regret any of it, because without it, I know I would be a miserable, jaded 30-year-old man blaming everyone else for my own misguided shortcomings. My wife has played the most important role in my growth, and although she sometimes has felt at times that she wasn’t helping me at all, the reality is that at every moment when I was feeling sorry for myself, she snapped me out of my own self-pity; every moment I felt directionless, she helped bring clarity; every moment I was sure of something but was afraid to try, she was there to push me even beyond what I thought would be possible. When I look back at my journey, there wasn’t one moment where my wife wasn’t supporting, pushing, guiding, and cheering me on. Some might say it was a foolish choice to pursue love so early on and delay my career, but I say I would have been a fool to pass up the person I deeply love just to have what everyone views as the “standard” way of living. Without her, I wouldn’t have ever taken a chance on myself, and without her, I wouldn’t have found what I truly love about games. Without her, I wouldn’t have found such a clear and vivid goal. I view my choice as the wise one, and I’m proud of myself for seizing the moment, creating a life that only exists in fairytales. Through love, I was able to become a designer, and I think that’s what makes life worth living.