Free of the World of Warcraft

Two years ago, I never thought that I would say this, but I am officially bored of World of WarCraft. That game that brought countless wasted hours of fun and enjoyment and guilt for not doing something more productive has lost its hold entirely.

Now this isn't to say that I've stopped gaming entirely or that I always use my time as best it can be since I stopped playing, but I do think I've used my time better than before.

When I first took a break, it was with great sadness and reluctance, but it had to be done to make sure that I graduated from college. At the same time, however, I felt a great sense of relief, as if I had been freed from something that had been taking so much of my time and given nothing in return. After a few months away from the game I graduated as planned, but I found that now that I had free time again, I wanted to use it for other things. Like I said, not always more productive, but a wider variety of things. I had simply lost the desire to play World of WarCraft. The things that I had grown bored of before I even left the game loom over me every time I even think of playing again and I just decide to do something else. Even those few times I logged on before my account expired, the game would load, I would find myself in Thrallmar, and I would find myself just chatting with people for a while and not doing anything else. I would finally decide I'm bored and log back out.

I will miss the friends I made and who knows, maybe one day I may play it again, but that doesn't seem likely at this point. I have more time to spend with my wife and daughter and STILL have time to do other things. With World of Warcraft, I had to spend my free time farming gold so that I could spend the rest of my free time raiding. It began to feel more like working than playing. Now, I'm not trying to imply anything about people who still play; it's a fun game and I definitely understand why people play it, I'm just glad that I don't anymore.

We'll see if Wrath of the Lich King piques my interest again, but it would have to make some pretty drastic changes for me to really get into it again.

So, if there is anyone actually reading this, what do you think about World of WarCraft? For those of you who managed to break its stranglehold, did you feel the same feeling of being set free? Share your thoughts!