Hi, my name's Shannon. I'm 20 years old and in college. I'm in a sorority (Gamma Phi Beta for life!), and involve myself in all sorts of campus activities. I love to read and write. I also play board games. A lot of board games.

I don't tell very many people that I play board games for fun. If I do, I certainly try to avoid telling them the extent of which I play them. I have a weekly board game night with my friends, where we sit in a dorm basement, strategizing, competing and occasionally working together. The rest of the world falls away. There's no cheating, no grudges and no real stress. For a few hours one day a week, I have nothing else to focus on aside from kicking ass in whatever board game we're playing at the time.

For a long time, I was almost embarrassed to the extent I played board games- I'm not really sure why. It was something I all but actively hid about myself from everyone except for the people I played with. I was secretive about what I was doing once a week for several hours, and when I would tell people, I would downplay how much my hobby meant to me. There was never any reason for me to do this, aside from being unnecessarily embarrassed by my interests. It could have been because I felt like the one of the only person above age ten that enjoyed board games- which clearly isn't true, as board game sales have gone up every year, or because it didn't really fit in with the image I was trying to project of myself- now, I'm not really sure what that image was at all. Humans are diverse, and I'm not sure where everyone got the idea that everyone fits into a category or stereotype. Somewhere along the way I decided I didn't want to be embarrassed about doing what I enjoy. Deciding this made a huge difference in my self esteem. I was happier and more open. I could talk to my friends about what I enjoyed, and occasionally find common ground with new people. The feeling I'd get from a new person joining our little group shifted from slight shame and discomfort to one of happiness. I became less guarded and less exclusionary.

I love playing board games, and will continue to. I will always have weekly game nights, and because of that, have a group of people to laugh with and to provide me with some distraction from the rest of the world. I will have people to get excited with and to keep me company. I've made friends for life, and I've continued to make more, just by being open about my interests. It's not like I have anything to be ashamed about anyway.