Level Up: Gamers Learns About Embracing Life's Uncertainty
this story holds a lot of emotional resonance for me, because I fondly remember reading this as a kid. I picked it up at the library, and as soon as we got home, I had my nose buried in it until I was done. I sat under the dining table for some reason, as my family was still eating. I was so absorbed in this book.. and to this day, I remembered that little detail of him bringing a rabbit poop sized poop sample for his lab at med school. second time round, I was glad to understand the meaning of this story.
I struggle with book summaries, but here goes: Dennis Ouyang is a gamer, increasingly so after his father died when he was in high school. nearly dropping out of med school from his addiction, he meets small little angels that delivered a message to him, "your destiny is to become a doctor specializing in gastroenterology" and helped him climb back up. but just who were these little angels? if they were his dad, why were there 4 of them? during this period he faces the uncertainty of his life, unsure about med school, still processing the death of his father, and his parent's expectations, yet moves forward. in these challenges awaits growth.
idk that was more of a back cover summary. I'm just gonna go ahead into spoiler territory.
This was a simple, relatable, coming of age story that speaks to growth, loss, pressure, and the uncertainties of life. It was very fun for me to read, especially as a kid, since the main character is a gamer. of course, too much gaming as an addiction can absolutely be life-affecting. but I love the use of visual and allegorical storytelling through video game ideas.
this story also illustrates the natural-Ness of growing up in an easy way: losing lives. each chapter, Dennis lost a life when he moved past a large life event, like when he and his group of friends had a falling out. by the end of the story, he lost all of his lives, but found something greater. He was told by his father that "a happier man is a better man" but even as he "chased happiness" in winning video game championships, he never felt truly happy. it was only at the end, when he found that gastroentrology was something he could enjoy, but also something he could do for the world.
I also find the way the author handled the topic of parents' expectations to be very relatable and well done. it can seem like the things our parents push us to do "because they want the best for us" are not really that.. more like torture. Dennis was so confused if med school was really his "destiny" like his parents always pushed him to. but how is it "destiny" if we already know the destination? I think this book was meant to show that no one knows their destiny. you're not supposed to. we all live in uncertainty, day after day, not sure if the actions we take in our day is "the right one." But even so, we still try, because it's worth it to hold out for great things that could happen to us in the future. in the end, Dennis found that his "destiny" was, partly, being a doctor, but controlling the camera scope in a colonoscopy operation. Using his natural gifting, hand eye coordination, for helping people. And when you're doing something youre good at, for something good, you're bound to love doing it. he's got it made.