September 5, 2026
There was a time when I used to sleep with my favorite video games under my pillow. I must’ve been around seven years old or so when I first developed this cute, endearing little habit. I remember first doing it with LittleBigPlanet 2 for the PS3. Holding and having a tangible case, manual and disc was something that meant a lot to me back then, as it continues to do now (probably more so than ever before.) Being able to hold something real that represented something my entire life was most devoted to at the time was a reassuring feeling – validating, almost. There were times when I would wake up in the middle of the night during the summer months and just check under my pillow to see if the game was still there.
It always was. But those few groggy minutes I spent staring at the case reminded me that in just a few hours, once the sun finally popped back up at 5-6 A.M, I’d be able to get out of bed and play the game once more. I fell back off into a light sleep, and that wonderful northeast U.S sunrise came like it always did. With that, I got out of bed, hurried through breakfast, and popped the game back into the PS3. My older brother was there watching me play, too. I loaded back into my pod, and then get greeted by a trophy unlock:
Who Needs Breakfast?
Play LittleBigPlanet™2 before 9am
There was my reward for my devotion. My badge of honor, for caring so much, forever etched into the digital fabric of my account, to be remembered forever.
September 6, 2026
There were certain YouTube videos that I used to watch over and over again back in the 2010s. When I was really young, it was Carlo’s Nintendo DSi two-part unboxing: system and OS showcase. For some reason, this video was incredibly engaging to me, and I just wouldn’t get tired of watching it. Even now, I still find myself re-watching it throughout the year because of the hit of nostalgia I get from it. There was a very human-like quality on YouTube at the time. People weren’t fighting the algorithm to make the most videos or earn the most money. A lot of the time, when people posted on YouTube, it was mainly just for the sake of posting a video because they wanted to. No ulterior motives.
Anyways, Carlos has since passed away due to a condition he had. I think it was MS, but I could be wrong. It makes me sad. He would always talk about how he would game with his wife and kids, and how he had plans to pass down his DSi to his daughters once they were old enough. Life is so precious, and I never would’ve expected that some random person on the internet would leave such a profound impact on me. He was here, and made his impact on the world, with over 1.2M views on the first part of his unboxing, with numbers that continue to slowly rise over the years with re-watches from nostalgic Gen-Zers such as myself.
Thank you Carlos, for being one of the defining moments of my childhood, and for getting me hyped and excited for the Nintendo DSi over and over again throughout the years.
