Matches and Matrimony

When the Red Cross updated stuff, I had to take a roll-over course and get the new Lifeguarding Manuel.  My mom didn't want to pay $30 bucks for a new Manual. Instead, she bought a Kindle for $50, and downloaded it for free.
Since that original purchase, my Mom has downloaded TONS of books, including all of the works of Jane Austen. Because of her obvious interest in Jane Austen, Amazon suggested she download a practically free "Make-you-own-novel/game" called "Matches and Matrimony." So I decided to play. I chose my own name, Mildred (because it sounds weird)! The instructions informed me that there were nine possible outcomes, and several Jane Austen Men to end up with (though they don't say who). What the outcome of my story would be depended on my choices and the daily activities I chose to do.
The story went day by day. I would "plan" my activities for the weekdays (choosing to "Go for a Walk" would increase my willpower. "Visiting Neighbors" would give me big points for kindness. "Reading "would give me wit. "Studying the Arts" would increase my talent. "Resting" would give me energy.)
The weekdays would pass, and the weekends would bring a ball or special visit, or some bit of excitement.
This was where the story happened.
Entire passages of Austen conversations are inserted, with small choices in conversation on my part. At the end of the lengthy conversation, your relationship with the person you talked with would be summed up in a simple sentence, "Jane likes you more." or "Mr. Darcy likes you less."
Sometimes I fell short. My dear friend Charlotte tried to pressure me to play the pianoforte, but I didn't have enough talent to do it. I brushed it off.
If you didn't like the outcome of a decision, you could easily "turn the page" back one, and choose differently. Each week was a new chapter, and you couldn't go back after that.
It was fun.
At first.
I knew not to flirt to Mr. Bingley because I've read Pride and Prejudice and seen a ton of movie representations of it. I steered clear of "Wickaby" (a combination of Wickham  and Willoughby) when he entered the scene, but Lydianne (My sister, a combination of Lydia and Marianne ) was quite taken with him. Although I didn't know exactly which suitors were available for me to win, I mostly knew who to avoid.
The first problem real problem was when Mr. Colins proposed, the Kindle told me that I had to accept because I didn't have enough willpower to refuse him! I went back, and re-chose to "Go for a Walk" EVERY DAY to increase my Willpower. Disaster was avoided. I moved on.
I kept playing. It was tough. I knew I couldn't please everyone... but who SHOULD I make an effort to please?
The story began to morph. It started out with Pride and Prejudice, briefly touched on Sense and Sensibility, and finally settled on Persuasion. It moved fast. Suddenly I had this huge back story of how much I loved Captain Wentworth. I decided that I was going to end up with him. When the decisions came along, I tried really hard to mirror the actions of the heroine of Persuasion, which was difficult because I've only seen it once and I've never read it. But I did alright.
Then the major drama unfolded. Lydianne was jumping off of a wall and Wentworth was supposed to catch her, but didn't, and then she was in critical condition. Thankfully, I made the right choice in sending Colonel  Brandon (obviously representing someone else from the real story) to go get a doctor. It worked out, Lydianne was resting, and I thought that all was well. Then, some random  person came in and asked if I was going to go to a ball that weekend. The Kindle made me say yes!
Wentworth was shocked, and disappointed. Everything was suddenly going downhill. fast.
The Kindle gave me the stupid omniscient response that must have been programmed for my situation. "Maybe if you had more natural kindness, this situation could have ended differently."

 I  freaked out. I went back (which was a long way back)  and "went visiting" EVERY DAY. Then I sped through to see if it was fixed. I went too fast! I ended up skipping ahead to the end, without having any idea of how I got there. Here was the end of my story.


"Mildred never married, ("No!!!") but used the many experiences of her youth to write several novels, which have transcended time."
Translation: I became Jane Austen.

I was mad. All I had wanted to do was see what Jane Austen man I would end up with. I felt like I had just wasted the past 3 hours of my life. I thought it was a stupid game, a waste of time, and a joke. I thought, "Gee, I'm glad that real life is not like that..."
But honestly... it kind of is.
You choose how you spend your time, and those choices reflect the outcomes of the really important parts of your life and the interactions you have with other people. You don't know exactly who the "marriage candidates" (in the extreme sense, but just the important people) will be, but you try to please as many people as you can.
Then again, life is different. You can't go back and make different choices. You can't just "un-say" something. But you usually get more than one chance to make an impression on or start a relationship with someone.

Honestly (if this were real life) it would be really cool to "become Jane Austen," except for the part where she becomes an old maid. I think I would like to become a writer some day (could I sound a little more wishy-washy?). But that wasn't the point of this game.

So what was the point of this post?
This was just to say that I really over-think things. I shouldn't play time-consuming and frustrating games anymore. I should be careful with my real life, and not mess with virtual ones anymore.
What was the point of you reading this post?
I don't know if there really was one. Maybe it's just so that you can roll your eyes and say, "Oh, Alayna..." like all of my closest friends do.
So that's it.