Dear friends,

While I was initially faced with a drought of issues to discuss, the truth is that I've been spending most of this week re-evaluating my attitude towards the game, and have found it unacceptable. I have reached the conclusion that climbing the highscores - as opposed to actual enjoyment - is my primary motivation for playing Runescape, and I find that that simply isn't enough to justify the long hours I spend in front of the computer on a daily basis.

On Friday, back in the real world, I took a long walk alone to clear my head and properly think the matter over.

I have loyally played Runescape for over 3 1/2 years since October 2006, chruned out a total of over 2000 levels, as well as accumulated 112 million total exp and a net worth easily exceeding 600 million gp. I have traveled to every single area the constantly evolving map of Gielinor has to offer; I have slain tens of thousands of foes which vary greatly in strength from the diminutive level 2 Goblin to the feared and revered Nomad; I have become a hero in many quest storylines and even a villain in some; and I have painstakingly recorded many of these exploits in the 2250 screenshots I've dutifully taken, cropped, named and organized.

In short, I have achieved much during my third a decade spent online. But for me to arrive at the right decision of whether or not to continue building on this accomplished record, the first thing I needed to let go of was my sentimentality. Which was what I did. I thought the issue over as objectively as possible during my hour-long stroll and have chosen to quit the game.

The time freed up could be better allocated elsewhere. I remember how I used to chide myself for spending, say, two straight hours shooting down zombies in my FPS of choice, when I could've been completing a Slayer task back in RS or gaining 100k Mining exp. I think it is time for me to stop turning play into work for a change.

Besides playing alternative games, one other pursuit I wish to dedicate the resulting void in my schedule to is reading. I am a voracious reader of both fiction and non-fiction, but this good habit has been restricted somewhat because of Runescape. I think that keeping up with my subscription of TIME and continuing past chapter 1 of Pride and Prejudice would be a significantly more enriching than exp grinding.

School is also a priority. As it stands, I've been labelled as exceptionally bright, but am still largely a B student when I should be getting st