Dominaria Was Lost, But I was Saved - A Magic: The Gathering Memory

Imagine going from his bullied and undersold background to being one of the biggest voices in the biggest card game on the planet. This is inspiring. Just a little kindness can completely change someone’s life. Try to be that girl in high school that created The Professor.

"In magic the gathering, I can tell people "No."... I mean yeah but that's just because you run blue professor.

“We are drawn to magic because it IS control”

Ah, a fellow blue player.

Damnit, whoever's chopping all these onions needs to stop.

I feel ya Professor. I am 15 years old, nearly no friends in any of my classes. I am very shy, bullied so much I had to move schools. Only finding comfort in magic and other fantasy related stuff. I started doing live action roleplay, and since I was new, everyone kinda tried to ignore me. Or at least most of them did. I walked around a bit, and a younger boy came up to me and asked if I wanted to play magic with him. And said yes. A few days later, I showed up at his house, only to see three other kids sitting at the kitchen table. I finally felt comfort around others. I can't even remember the format, but that doesn't matter, I had fun. And if I never started to go to Live action role plays, I would never have been happy with myself.

You should write your biography Professor.

It would inspire so many people.

Very powerful video, I was a lot like you when I was in school. I too had to deal with being bullied, to the point that my mom hired someone to pick me up from school and he made me ride in the back of his truck and would regularly slam on his brakes or accelerate to make me slide around in the bed of his truck. It finally stopped when he took off when I was climbing into the bed of his truck and I fell out hitting my head and getting a concussion. To add insult to injury, instead of helping me, the students gathered in front of the school cheered and laughed as I walked home dragging my book bag and my shirt hanging in tatters. I also received the same advice, "toughen up", "confront the bully and they'll let you alone", "there's got to be a reason that they're picking on you", etc. The bullying wasn't just physical, I was a sucker for the "fake girlfriend" scam that was massively popular in my school. Suffice it to say, by the time I graduated high school, I was extremely introverted and I couldn't trust anyone. While my classmates were going on to college and their lives, I went to Job Corps. It was there that I was first exposed to my escape, Dungeons and Dragons, and Magic the Gathering. It was there that I finally began to come out of my shell and begin to socialize with others. There are times though, when I tend to fall back on my previously antisocial ways. And Magic always brings me back.
Thank you professor, thank you for sharing this with us.

Professor I'm so sorry to hear about your childhood. But at least you found happiness in the end.

I understood why the Professor put so much emphasis on needing quality starter products, but I see now that it's a lot more personal. Really puts things in perspective.

Since you said you have read alot of fantasy novels, then I think this quote is apt and helpful:

"Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? Perhaps because I am afraid, and he gives me courage."
J.R.R Tolkien.

I love this quote, and your story about the stranger reminded me of this.

Amazing life story, truly inspirational. How a "simple" act of kindness and a card game changes everything. Bless that person that invited you to play and everyone that gives a change to the person next door.

I guess it's time for my sappy story.

I'm a sophomore in high school. I belong to a middle class family where we all love each other. I go to a private school. I have friends. But I don't have the optimal life. Far from it. And it all started at my birth.

I was born on June 12, 2001. I was due in late August. Despite this, I was quite large. But the problem lies in the inside. Not only did my lung collapse, thankfully fixed, but the tubes leading from my kidneys to my bladder were too tight. This caused urine to push back up into my kidneys, making them explode, blowing large holes in them. I was in the NICU for almost two months, where I was constantly in an incubator, peeing through a hole below my stomach where the scar can still be seen. I was on blood transfusions. All of this while my mother couldn't hold me for weeks. I also had a bladder twice as thick, which I will get to later. After that, I was released and lived out my happy infant life until I was two. That's when the first major problem of two arose: kidney stones.

My parents were informed that I was a kidney stone former. I produce tiny stones of sodium and calcium that build up, eventually needing to be passed through by urination, tearing up my urethra, causing bleeding and extreme pain that people have said is comparable to kidney stones. This also birthed my fear of needles, needing to get bloodwork almost every year, a fear that I am just now starting to face. But other than peeing my pants until first grade due to my bladder not being able to signal when I had to go, I was a happy go lucky kid. This all changed in the summer before third grade. This is what has defined my life for almost 8 years.

During that summer, had a lot of strep throat. I had it about three or four times before it finally stopping. If I had had it one more time, we would've taken my tonsils out. I wish we had. After that, I thought my tonsils were "cleaning out", producing small, white balls of gunk every once and a while. When this happened, I began to start showing visible ticks, anxiety, and stress. My mom said it was like seeing her child change before her eyes. This, combined with bullying from a new student, forced me to leave school for the last three months of fourth grade, barely making the qualifications to not have to take the End Of Grade standardized tests. We went to therapists to test for Asperger's syndrome, but to no avail. At my new school that I have stayed at since, I started having panic attacks. I cried on the second day of school for not getting my planner signed. I would get so nervous, I thought I would vomit. I was sent home early several times. And while medication made the process easier, it made my body dependent on my meds to this day, causing extreme stress and anxiety due to withdrawal. It got slightly better, but I was never the same. I made friends, but was also the weird nerd who got bullied. It was never physical, but depression became a part of my life. I was never suicidal, and never have been, but I've spent many a night crying out to God to take me off this earth, wishing that I was never born. And while my best friend was becoming a jerk, it led to inactivity, causing my largest period of weight gain, 40 pounds in three months. I worsened as time went on and puberty hit, with 9th grade becoming a confusing time of social anxiety and raging hormones. I was at my worst, especially when I broke my iPod touch, my main source of comfort and escape, bawling on the floor for an hour. Not to mention actual attraction to the opposite sex, but knowing that I'd never even have a chance. I was giving up hope at ever finding out what was wrong with me. Then, at church one day, one of my mom's friends mentioned something that her daughter had. It sounded exactly like what I had. After going to a neurologist in DC and getting some testing, we found out what I had: PANDAS.

PANDAS stands for Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections. It's where the strep passes the blood-brain barrier, infecting the brain, causing the immune system to attack it. This was why I had anxiety, ticks, etc. But we also found out that those white gunk balls that would form around my tonsils were tonsil stones, bunches of white blood cells that clear out when there's infection. This means I've been infected for almost eight years. But there is a cure. And the first step was taking out my tonsils, a procedure I had about three weeks ago. Now all there is is to get an all day IV to kill the strep for good.

So why do I tell you this? For the longest time, I've been obsessed with videogames, holing up in my room all day. My parents wanted me to do something else, but nothing interested me. Not until I found Magic: The Gathering. I had always heard of it, but when I looked into it, I had to play. I was fascinated by each color having its own playstyle and philosophy. #BlueBois4Lyfe So I looked up tutorials and what to buy. And that's when I came across you, Professor.

I cannot describe how much it means to me that you've made such great videos about a game that I've only played one game of. And that was an app! (And before you say that this is blasphemy for not playing Magic, then commenting about how much it means to me, but hey. I'm talking about Prof AND Magic.) But I'm almost ready to dive into actual play against people at my LGS. (Just need a job to eventually get stuff other than just a welcome deck and some card sleeves.) And while I don't have a lot of experience with Magic YET, I can proudly say that you, Professor, have paved the way for my preparation and journey into Magic. I love how much of a genuine passion you have for this game and community, and I thank you for introducing me to what makes it so great. I've had many days where after a stressful day at school, I come to what I consider a second school, the Tolarian Community College.

So thank you, Professor. Thank you for showing me what makes Magic so great. Thanks for paving the way for my new journey as a Magic player. Thank you for being there after many a stressful day. Thank you for being my intro into my new favorite game. Thank you for being my professor. 😊

Max, North Carolina

"You're probably interesting, come play Magic with us." I love that.

I can't imagine how hard it must have been to go through that, but even more I couldn't have more respect for you for being brave enough to share it online. Thank you for sharing prof :] Keep doing what you're doing!

That must have been hard to open up about. I really appreciate all that you do for us here at TCC. Just as you told us, I'll tell you: You are loved. Thank you for this.

I cried through this, I can relate to nearly all of it. Great video

You don’t know just how much these stories help people. I know that I saw quite a bit of myself in those situations, and it really helps me relate to you and how you think.

Thanks for sharing Professor. I know it’s tough to share those memories of loneliness and unfairness, so good job.

it's years later where I stopped blaming the bullies as much and started blaming the teachers who wouldn't do their effing jobs. I remember rather than do something about the bullies they actually had me stay in the library at lunch hour.

honestly magic is also probably what helped me through high school. something to look forward too each week.

Your bravery in sharing these vulnerable memories with us is inspiring and comforting. It's more valuable than I can adequately express.
For the record I think YOU were how I found out about Pauper, my one true love, we're having a June wedding and you're invited. :D

Thank you for sharing Professor. Its hard for those who go through this early on in their lives and it nice to see that others have struggled wit this as well. You'll always be the number one magic player I look up to.