I often complain that I don't watch television because the majority of it is insipid bullshit, but in reflection over completing the most recent show I invested time in watching, I realize that I'm partially full of crap -- one of the reasons I don't watch television is because I know the right show can not only suck me in totally, but make me feel genuinely sad and a little melancholy when it comes to a close and I have to say goodbye to characters that I really wish were real people I could meet. I don't regret the time spent at all -- but it makes you feel something.

This happens in games too sometimes. It recently happened when I played Lost Odyssey, but before that it had been a really long time since it had happened to me. It's then that I realize that these forms of media have truly achieved something great. The fact that I am sad tonight while I am packing (we move to our new apartment a week from tomorrow) because the show I was watching ended and I had to let the characters go really sticks with me. I'm sure a lot of people would think it was stupid, but it's no different from real-life goodbyes really....either way, we make our attachments and then have to move on as life does. I don't feel depressed as much as awed by the idea that art never fails to take me by surprise, no matter what form it comes in. I'm still always humbled (and taken by surprise) when it affects me deeply.