For as long as I can remember I was interested in video games. Growing up, it was my main entertainment medium. I remember getting home from school as a toddler and rushing to finish my homework because I knew that when my father came through that door he would have a new game rental from Blockbuster to play. At first, I would just enjoy watching him play, it was exciting to me and the thought of playing myself was almost scary. Just through spectating, I was able to memorize how to beat games like Silent Hill or The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. By the time I mustered up enough courage to ask my old man to let me try a hand at playing, I knew exactly what I was doing. Things even came naturally for games that I wasn't even familiar with. This marked the beginning of my longstanding passion for gaming.

I have always been a competitive person. From the moment I began playing sports in school. Winning was important to me because it meant that I put in enough effort to come out on top, and the feeling of being the best at something, even for a short moment, was extremely satisfying. I played all the sports I was able to in school, and outside of school, I focused mainly on hockey, because I grew up in a family of Toronto Maple Leafs fans. Over the years, my competitive drive continued to increase. Come high school, I had become mature enough to perceive mistakes and losing in a constructive manner and I learned to use them to better myself.

Fast forward a few years, there came a day when I was introduced to League of Legends, and soon after, Esports. Sure, I was already aware of competitive games and knew about MLG and Game Battles with Halo and Call of Duty, but this was something new for me that opened up my eyes even further. I had never been introduced to competitive gaming on such a large scale in which viewers in the masses would spectate, with the whole sports vibe going on. It was able to tie in my love for gaming with my love for sports and competitiveness. This, for me, was when I figured out what I wanted to pursue for a career.

Now, some of you may be thinking that I mean I wanted to become a professional gamer. This is surely something that crossed my mind and I would have loved to go down this path, but I opted not to because it was logically too much of a gamble for me. I followed the growth of esports very closely for the games that I played casually with friends, being League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Through spectating, just as when I was a toddler, I was able to learn all about the industry and its problems and voids. I was most concerned with why esports had not made its way into my neck of the woods, Canada, as much as it did in the United States or Europe. I wanted to see esports in Canada at the same level as I saw it with events like Worlds, The International, or Dreamhack.

In 2015, while I was working on my thesis project on validating esports and introducing it to those who were unaware it even existed, I discovered Northern Arena and the Canadian League of Gamers. Carl-Edwin Michel and Greg Spievak, the co-founders of the organization, saw the potential of esports in Canada. They were hosting a $20,000 CS:GO tournament in Toronto at Ryerson's Mattamy Athletic Centre, formerly Maple Leaf Gardens. I regretfully did not attend the tournament but I made sure to tune in online and see what it was all about.

They had a strong vision to generate an opportunity for semi-professional Canadian and female teams to compete against some of the professional teams. Their tournament in 2015 was a good start, but the small prize pool and lack of 'big name' teams in the tournament caused it to go rather unnoticed. They were, however, determined to try again in 2016 with a bigger prize pool thanks to sponsors.

In June 2016, I wrote a simple email to Northern Arena asking if they were hiring and explaining my passion for esports. I showed them that I was dedicated to learn and I wanted to work for them in order to help Canadian esports grow. A few weeks later, they offered me a position on the team and gave me a list of tasks I was to complete in preparation for their upcoming tournament. I was to be the SEO Analyst and Content Strategist for Northern Arena. For me this was a huge step! I had finally found a job I loved doing. It wasn't just work. For me, it was passion. I was willing to put in crazy hours just to make sure things were prepared and went as smoothly as possible. Long days that would leave most begging to go home left me wanting more, this was definitely the industry for me. Everybody I met, including players, were amazing, down-to-earth people that actually cared about their job. It was such a great experience that I don't even find it appropriate to call it a 'job' because it was more fun than anything. Sure there are stressful moments, but the passion and love for what we were doing was what drove me through.

I am going to be honest and say that Northern Arena Toronto definitely had some hiccups, but that was expected. Our main focus now is to do everything in our power to avoid those hiccups and produce an even better event in Montreal at the Bell Centre in November. I honestly can't wait to see the city of Montreal, because the last time I was there I was only a toddler who watched his father play video games rented from Blockbuster.

For me, this is only the beginning of a long career I plan to have in esports. I will continue to work for Northern Arena to improve the events we have planned for Canada and to attempt to make innovations within the esports industry. I appreciate those who have read up until this point and I hope that in doing so I have inspired you to use your passion, wherever it may lie, to achieve what you want in life.