Playing Video Games Pays Off in a Big Way
Aydan Conrad started playing Fortnite, a popular shooting and survival video game, the day it was released in 2017. He immediately became obsessed.
“It was bad," Aydan, then 17 years old, admitted. "I wasn’t doing homework. I was just going to school, chucking my bag, and playing the game until it was time for school again."
Turns out, all those gaming hours paid off.
After convincing his parents to let him take a year off after graduating high school, he kicked his gaming into high gear. He entered tournaments and started winning. A LOT. His YouTube and Twitch channels took off as millions tuned in to watch him play.
Not only did his scores rack up, so did his bank account. And he decided to use some of his hard-earned winnings in the most wholesome way possible — by paying off his mom's expensive college loans.
Crediting his followers for helping to make it happen, he shared the emotional moment he surprised her with the news on one of his livestreams.
(Grab the tissues.)
Young Gamer Changes His Mom's Life
"I paid all of my mom's college loans off so I'm gonna call her and tell her," he starts off telling his 1.4 million viewers. "But I want you guys to know that you guys did this. I wouldn't be able to do it without you guys so pat yourselves on the back."
After getting his mom on the phone he tells her he loves her (awwwww) and that he has a belated Christmas gift for her.
“Let's talk about this later," she responds. "I don’t need anything, Aydan – you’ve done enough for me."
Grinning from ear to ear, Aydan tells her, “Well, it’s too late, Mom. All your school loans are already paid for.”
Hilariously, she doesn't believe him. "No they're not. You can’t… you can’t… It’s not a federal loan. I don’t think you can touch that stuff at all.”
But Aydan's way ahead of her. He tells her that he's already talked to Lina (presumably a financial advisor at the college) and it's a done deal.
"Your school loans are all paid for, you don't have to worry about them."
She immediately bursts into tears. At the sound of his mom crying, Aydan breaks down too.
Not only are her loans paid, but it also means she can graduate sooner. Aydan didn't just give her a monetary gift, he gave her the gift to pursue her dreams without the weight of financial constraints. And that? Is priceless.
His mom ends the call by jokingly telling listeners to drop !prime and !sub in the chat (not only plugging paid subscriptions but also proving just how supportive she is of his career.)
Giving Back For All of the Support He's Received
Aydan is currently one of the top gamers in the world. An American competitive eSports gamer, he's known for dominating the leaderboard in Fortnite and more recently, Call of Duty: Warzone.
He makes a living off of playing video games and we don't mean chump change. As of 2023, he's racked up more than $600,000 in winnings not to mention the money he makes off his wildly successful YouTube and Twitch channels, which have a combined following of over 4 million people.
Add to that a number of sponsors, including Hello Fresh and Monster Energy, and the kid's doing alright.
He's gone from growing up in a trailer home just 20 miles west of Cleveland to living in a luxury apartment in Irvine, California.
But despite his fame and fortune, he hasn't forgotten his roots. Or the woman who has supported him through it all — his mom.
You Have Been Paid For
It was Maya Angelou who said that each of us has been paid for by those who came before us, and so therefore it is our duty to pay for those who are yet to come.
Think about it: Every chance and opportunity you have ever been offered has only been available because somebody, somewhere, at some point in time, fought for your freedom. "Each of you," Angelou wrote, "Black, White, Brown, Yellow, Red—whatever pigment you use to describe yourselves—has been paid for."
For that reason alone, wouldn't it be a shame if you were to go through your whole life having never maximized every opportunity? Having never fully known what you could have been, because you were too lazy or too broke or too absorbed in your own justifications for not being able to take the leap?
You Have Been Paid For
Realize now that choosing to live out the life of your dreams is so much bigger than simply satisfying yourself. You are also satisfying your father who sacrificed his chance at a good education so you could have yours; your mother who worked tirelessly so you could grow up never knowing the struggles she knew all too well; your grandmothers and grandfathers; your ancestors of centuries ago who could only dream of the privileges and opportunities present in your life today.
Following your dreams is perhaps the most selfless act there is. Because everyone knows that when you truly follow your heart, it riddles your life with uncertainty. There is always a voice in the back of your head telling you that if you get too complacent you could fail; that you should give up early while you're still on top; that it would be in your best interest to just accept and move on from whatever little success you had and pursue the safer option from now on.
But it takes a deeper, instinctual awareness to persist despite hardship. An awareness that you have been paid for – that you have been paid for in the form of the clothes on your back and the food in your fridge, the room you have been allowed to rent and the bed you get to rest your head in every night.
Perhaps you believe in something bigger than yourself that has paid for you: the Universe, or God, or Allah, or Buddha, all of the above or none of the above. Whatever you believe, we are each balls of star energy walking around on a rock floating in space... It is difficult to accept that our existence here is anything but magic.
So whenever I read a story of someone who committed suicide or gave up on their dream or died too young, or all three, I always affirm to myself: "I'm taking that person with me. I'm taking that person with me the next time I get on a stage, or do a job interview, or have anything to do that requires great courage."
I'm bringing them with me. Because they deserve to be honored. Because they remind me that I'm doing what I do not just for selfish purposes; that I'm also doing it for everyone who for whatever reason couldn't make it this far. Who saw no escape, who saw no light.
I want to be that light.
Because we have each been paid for on this planet, and it is our duty to live out the dreams of others who saw no possibility to live them themselves.
Remind yourself of this fact and you will never question your conviction towards the things that set your soul on fire.