When I was very young, my parents spent their hard-earned rupees and coins to buy me video games, thus sealing my destiny and starting my journey to be the best games-media journalist there ever was. There’s no way that Mike and Marcia Tulley could’ve predicted in 1996 that video games would go on to be the single-most influencing decision of my life. Thanks mom and dad, I think that you’re both Super.

I haven’t broadcasted much that I started working part-time at Best Buy in Tuscaloosa because I don’t see it as a career and I never thought selling computers would get me anything but a paycheck. Saturday while I was working, I had an interaction with a customer that reminded me why video games were so important to me, and how truly grateful that my parents encouraged my journey into games media.

Before I was 10-years-old, I was the proudest owner of a Gameboy Color (Special Yellow Pikachu Edition, wowza!!!!!!!1!!), an N64 and an original PlayStation. Pokemon, and Nintendo as a whole, was, and still is, where I get my star power. I have Pokemon clothing, accessories and even bed sheets. As a child, I was obsessed with video games, and now, I’m proud to say that hasn’t changed, only evolved; leveled up.

So here I am at Best Buy, just 15 minutes until my shift was over. We were slow in the computer section but slammed everywhere else, so I went to help. I immediately regretted my decision. I was pulled in multiple directions; one guy wanted help with his car audio, an older couple had 15 thousand questions about a GPS (just get a smartphone, grandma) and another lady wanted me to price-check a television. I was not trained in any of these departments, but I tried my best to help even though I could feel my eyebrows locking into a furrowed-angry expression. Finally, 20 minutes after I was supposed to leave, I was approached by a middle-age redneck dude. I guess he thought he might need to construct or hunt something, because he had his work boots and camo hat on. So I was tired, ready to leave, and fully expecting Cleatus here to be full of one syllable basic questions.

I was so wrong. Dan wanted to buy an Xbox One so that his 11-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter could play Minecraft (p.s. I effing love Minecraft, it got me through college). While I could have walked out and given the sale away, or just point him towards the game section, I felt a little bit of my past come to life. How did my dad, a man in his late thirties, with no knowledge of anything game related, look when he came to buy me “Pokemans”? I imagine he looked like this.

I showed Dan the Xbox display, and painstakingly explained how the 360 and the One were different. Our journey didn’t stop there. Because I have loads of experience with the Xbox One, I knew right away what games were appropriate for his children that they could easily enjoy, because I was once an older brother with a kid sister that had to constantly be at my side and play everything I did.

As Dan was beginning to pay, I realized how big of a deal this purchase was to me. I explained to him how great it was to see another dad humble himself and spend a big load of money so that there would be another generation of gamers. I shook his hand twice, looked him in the eye and I swear that I saw my own dad looking back at me.