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My first ever video game system was one of the old, grey “brick” styled Game Boys. The funny thing is, I don’t remember being all that intent on asking for one for Christmas. I probably put it as one of the many many things that were in my letter to Santa – right in between a real lightsaber (like, actual lightsaber) and a house with secret passageways and a fireman pole. So on Christmas morning, as I rushed into the living room to survey what Santa had placed under the tree, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. I frowned at the clothing I found in boxes that seemed more suitably sized for puzzles, LEGO sets, or other exciting toys; I exclaimed the appropriate amount of surprise at the different story books, mediocre toys, and other generic Christmas gifts that were appreciated, but not “the big one.” And then I opened one that had me stymied, but foreshadowed a more exciting gift yet to come – a carrying case marked “For the Nintendo Game Boy.”

By the wince that passed across my mother’s face, I knew I hadn’t been meant to open that one just yet; my mother was keen on delaying the “one gift to rule them all” until the very last, but there were often “companion gifts,” various accessories that were meant to complement the main gift, that would come along as aftershocks to the one gift that was the best surprise of the Christmas morning. Even with the wince, it took me a moment to figure out that this case was a harbinger of greater things yet to come. But as the revelation dawned on me, my jaw dropped to the ground and I practically screamed with surprise and joy. I tore into the next boxes, looking for the Game Boy that was meant to fit into the compartment in the case, and found nothing but disappointments: action figures, books, casette tapes, and board games only mocked me with their non-electronic pointlessness; clothing, which was never welcomed in the first place, became the focus of my ire as I vowed that I would hide that sweater in the darkest corner of my closet and let the boogeyman wear it to his next PTA meeting. There was a Game Boy somewhere under that tree, and nothing was going to stop me from finding it.

Though I had found no Game Boy yet, I found games that confirmed the purpose of the case, on the one hand, but on the other hand only fueled the fervor with which I searched for the Game Boy. “Look all around the tree,” my mother said. “Look both up and down.” She knew my frustration and was enjoying the hunt, now. I looked under the tree and behind the stockings. I looked through the wrapping paper and behind the furniture. I looked on bookcases and in toyboxes. But it took me becoming frustrated nearly to tears before my mother reached carefully into the middle of the tree and pulled “it” out – the carefully packed and packaged box marked “Nintendo” that contained my prize. I tore into the package with a vengeance and settled in to enjoy the rest of my Christmas day engrossed in trying to fit blocks together or helping Mario to save the princess.

Despite the advances that have happened in video game technology, the new versions of the handheld game that have come out, and better systems being released altogether, I still have this Game Boy and I even pull it out to play from time to time. Somehow, that gift has stuck with me and has been one that I still fondly remember.