Introduction

Video games have change who i am as a person. As an only child living in an apartment with no other friends in the area, I had to find something else to entertain myself with during my spare time. 
Then my cousin gave me my first console, the SEGA Mega Drive (/Genesis), The first game I ever played on it was Sonic the Hedgehog, which is still one of my favorite gaming franchises (minus sonic the hedgehog2006 -_-'). So from then on I used Video Games to entertain myself.

About a year after I was given the Mega Drive, I bought myself a Play Station (PS1). I also bought my favorite game of all time, Spyro the Dragon 3: Year of the Dragon, the first game i ever 100% completed (or 127% completed in that game's case).
So I spent my spare time for the next few years playing and completing various games on the PlayStation and Mega Drive. Then i discovered the world of PC gaming. 
PC Gaming opened up an entirely new world to me, a world of much more beautiful games, games than run faster; games like Portal and Half-Life.

Then I was introduced to online multiplayer gaming. Multiplayer games have changed my life more than any other advancement in gaming, I have met so many wonderful people and so many new friends by playing games like, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Counter Strike: Source. Thanks to games like them I now have; 3 friends in Canada, 3 friends in Ireland, 1 friend in Germany, 1 friend in Ukraine, 2 in Scotland, 1 in Plymouth, 2 in Australia, 5 in USA, and many more from all corners of the world.
I have also had the pleasure of meeting a large number of these people in person at gaming conventions, such as; Games-Con, E3 and  PAX East. Thanks to the popularity of video games, conventions like these now exist and have given me the opportunity to meet friends, who i had I only known through a PC monitor in my bedroom, in person.

In short, Video Games entertained me when i didn't have many friends, Helped me make new ones from all over the world, enhanced the experience we all had together and gave us the opportunity to meet in person. 
Thank you Video Games :)