Remember being a little kid and all you ever wanted to do, against your parent's wishes, was play video games? You would have your bowl of cheese puffs, an unlimited supply of Capri Sun, and the next eight hours at your disposal. After thousands of pleas and wishes for you to go outside or to be productive, you would eventually throw on some headphones to drown out the world (or your nagging parents).

When adults would ask us what we wanted to be when we grew up, we would have loved to scream out "a professional video gamer," but the repeated eye rolls were clue #1 that we could not grow up to play video games for the rest of our lives. What if I told you that those hours of wasting your life away by rapidly pushing buttons on a controller...could save a life? And I don't mean that 1up you just scored in Super Mario. #VideoGameLivesMatter

What is AGDQ?

"AGDQ" stands for Awesome Games Done Quick, part one of two charity video gaming marathons. Volunteers at this event play all types of video games at an unbelievable speed. The players have earned the name "speed-runners." They will play games from all platforms and decades and defeat them in ways we have only ever dreamed of. You know how Zelda took you probably about two months to beat? (That damn water temple). Well, these speed runners have defeated the game in...18 minutes and 10 seconds! For any avid video game player, that is unimaginable. The event streams live for seven days, Sunday to Sunday. That is over 150 hours of non-stop video games, fellow nerds coming together, and millions of dollars being raised for the fight against cancer.

Why?

"Why not?" is a better question. This group of people came together in 2010 and decided to put their passion towards the greater good of humanity...who wouldn't want to be a part of that?? Fast forward to the year 2017 and they have raised, to date, over eight million dollars towards the fight against cancer. These events are all about speed running and fundraising. It is like watching your cool older brother finishing your favorite video game and then donating your allowance. Sign me up!

Who?

Twice a year, over 1,400 people come together to donate to charity and play video games. The Speed runners come from literally all over the world to showcase their skills, complete video games in record-breaking time and fight cancer. Then for the loyal viewers who cannot attend the event in person, there are 120,000 people watching live! Games Done Quick also streams the event in five different languages, making this a worldwide event. Throughout the week, viewers are encouraged to donate for amazing incentives such as prizes and collectibles. One of my favorite parts is when the announcer reads aloud the messages from all of the donators. Most messages exclaim how they could only donate $5.00, but they were still so happy to give whatever they could to this cause and event. Games Done Quick has created such an amazing community of loyal viewers, dedicated speed-runners, and generous donators.

When?

The best part about AGDQ? Is that it is on RIGHT NOW! The week-long charity gaming marathon will be streamed live 24/7 January 8 through January 15. This year's Awesome Games Done Quick is taking place right in the town where it all began: Herdon, Virgina. Their next event will take place in July, 2017 and the location will be disclosed at the end of Awesome Games Done Quick!

How?

Not able to be there in person? Well, there is always next year....BAZINGA! The event is streamed live and online for its entirety. You will be able to watch non-stop as the donations come flooding in, see the Speed runners destroy video games in record-breaking time, and an entire community coming together to fight the ultimate bad guy...Cancer.

Follow the link here to catch the action LIVE! https://gamesdonequick.com/

Video Games Are Not For Everyone...

Video games may not be your thing, but we can all agree, we all hate cancer. I am not someone who plays video games hours on end, nor someone who watches other people play games. I still remember the day my boyfriend, Matt, asked me to watch a "speed run" of an old Nintendo game. I could not believe what he was asking me to sit through...but like any good girlfrien,d I made a sacrifice and watched. Two years later...I am almost as excited as he for the next Games Done Quick event to be back on. I have even agreed to go to an event in person next year. The most amazing thing to me is to see all of these people come together for a passion and for a good cause. Anything that brings this much joy, and happiness to the world, isn't so bad in my book.