It feels unreal that 10 years have already passed since I stopped playing DOTA. Back then, life was simple—we were just students with no real responsibilities. No fancy phones, no big worries. Just school, then straight to the net café, playing until we were half-asleep.
It was always me and my friends, running to the café after class to dive into DOTA 2. We were hardcore gamers, trying to carry each other not only in-game but also in real life. We shared food, split rides, and laughed until our stomachs hurt.
Sometimes we’d talk trash about the game, while strangers looked at us like we were aliens. Other times, we’d head out to watch scary movies—like I.T.—just for the thrill.
I still remember teaching my friends how to set up an ad-hoc connection so everyone could play Warcraft without internet or LAN. Those moments were priceless. We’d share a single Red Bull between two or three people, laughing about how we might get diabetes if we drank too much.
Of course, I wasn’t the best student. I didn’t enjoy most subjects, and my skills never seemed to match the school program. I dreamed of becoming a game developer, but I ended up as a web developer instead—partly because I had no idea how to design game assets, and partly because I knew I couldn’t do it alone.
Time passed, and we graduated. That was a big success after four years of hard work. Then came jobs, careers, and responsibilities. Slowly, the games disappeared, and so did the long nights at the café. Work took over, and we all drifted apart.
Now it’s 2025, and here I am, writing this with a heavy sense of nostalgia. These days, I play Apex Legends solo. No friends beside me, no laughter, no trash talk—just me and the silence. Life isn’t the same anymore. 💔
