Was in a different town tonight and stopped by a game store I had never been to. I had no idea if they carried Magic or not - but lo and behold, Game Day was going on!

The players were mostly between 8-15 years old, playing all kinds of different decks with the cards they owned.

I showed up just in time to watch the final match - and saw a 10 year old take down the tournament with his Mardu Warriors deck! The smile on his face was wide - he was in disbelief. To him, this might have well been the World Championships.

He turned around, saw me standing there, and his eyes grew wide. “Are- are you Gavin?” He stammered.

I nodded.

Quickly, an army of preteens were gathered around me telling me what they liked about Magic and their stories and wanting their parents to take pictures of them with me.

Eventually, they all subsided - except for the champion. Just ten years old - the same age I was when I started playing - he was on top of his Magic game. He started firing off questions about everything.

“What’s your favorite guild?”

“Is Garruk still alive? What’s going on there?”

“Why did you guys remove the core set?”

“What’s the code name for next year’s block?”

When I told him it was Blood, Sweat, and Tears, he corrected me. “Actually, they’re two set blocks now. So wouldn’t it just be Blood and Sweat?”

Seriously. This kid knew his stuff.

He reminded me of… well, exactly me when I was ten. Only better, and more well informed thanks to the rise of the internet.

So I stood outside in the parking lot with his mom and him, talking about Magic and what I liked and what he liked and how it’s so good for so many parts of vocabulary and math and critical thinking and to stick with it and so on.

And then he opens his mouth.

And he asks me a question.

He asks me THE question.

“So, how do I get a job making Magic cards?”

My heart skipped a beat. The entire world around me melted away, entirely erased. My memory can only go back to a singular point in time.

I was exactly his age. Me and my mom met Randy Buehler at a local event and asked him that same exactly question. With his advice, I pursued the job making Magic cards I have today.

I can remember every aspect of that moment - how Randy smiled and cocked his head, how he looked me squarely in the eye, and, most importantly, how he phrased his answers.

“Gavin?”

I returned to the present moment. I looked down at the kid, cocking my head and looking him squarely in the eye.

“Well, you need two things. The first is a college degree.” I paused for a second, glancing at his mother knowingly. “You also need to be someone we know in Magic so we can come to you - so a professional player or writer.”

I delivered practically the very same advice Randy gave me, nearly 14 years ago to someone, who was, basically, me.

The kid looked at me beaming. He had just charted a course in his head.

I want to believe he’s going to go home and look up information on the Pro Tour tonight. Because that’s exactly what I did.

If I have ever used the phrase, “all the feels” before tonight, I have done so inappropiately. Because this - this is all the feels.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody. May you make a difference in the life of someone else tonight.