I have a Twitch clip of the moment I beat the final boss of Doom Eternal. I recently bought a Cixin Liu book. And I keep my old pair of salomon trail shoes, just in case I need them again. I am highly motivated and influenced by love, probably that’s why I’m Necoco Love and not something different. Who would have thought.  

I don’t think necessarily that being influenced is a bad thing, but it can be dangerous for sure, like getting into something you think you enjoy but in reality is because you want something, like when your parents push their dreams onto you and you end up choosing a career path you later realize you don’t enjoy at all. Or going clubbing with friends when you don’t even like loud places because you just don’t want to disappoint your friends (which, at this point, I’m not sure this counts as being influenced).  

As someone who has learned how to be on their own, I like to think I have a strong will and I would rarely do something I’m not entirely sure just for the fear of missing out. No matter how much my friends try to convince me to play Fortnite or League of Legends, or how much they play together when I join the discord call, I won’t do it. Unless I get paid a decent amount of money, and even then, there’s always the possibility I might not accept.  

But love is where it’s at: my weakness. Things I do for love are not because I’m trying to impress people or look more likeable to their eyes. I am fascinated by things they enjoy, and I often find myself interested in such things out of genuine curiosity: what’s so good about this thing that this person likes it so much? The excitement in their eyes, that spark when they talk about things they enjoy, is contagious. And therefore, sometimes, I want to experience that too.  

I read once that we’re just made from the small details and things we pick from the people we love in our lives. I wasn’t exactly that interested in science fiction at all, yet I have a list of old science fiction movies that I’m planning to watch at some point. And after reading Ball Lighting, which was a gift, I just want to keep reading science fiction, as if the interests itself was a gift from this person that now I made it my own, part of who I am.  

Working out could be a similar story, but I was the one who went by that one gym in the first place. And seeing how much my coach enjoyed it, how much I progressed and how fun it was, I just adopted the habit. I went far, I’m not going to lie. I even participated in a Spartan Race back in 2019, an obstacle race that was more like a mental challenge of 13 km with 25 obstacles to prove your strength, both mental and physical. Preparing for it was difficult, and I remember clearly crossing the finish line and looking for my coach, crying and just hoping to get a big hug, like toddlers when they fall and just want their parents to console them.  

It was a huge achievement, but I’m never going back to it.  

And then there’s games that I would never in my life thought I would be playing. Doom Eternal, Alien: Isolation, Valheim, 7 Days to die, New World, Lost Ark. The whole concept of playing with friends was, until a couple of years ago, unthinkable for me. Outside Smash Bros. and Mario party games, I just didn’t like it. Yet I met a person once who made me reconsider all this because, if this person loved it so much, and it meant I could play with them, why not try it? And if this person had that much fun shooting demons and hiding from the Aliens, would I enjoy it too if I tried?  

It’s unfair to say only those 3 people have influenced me when, in all fairness, I get influenced a lot by people I love, and not exclusively in a romantic aspect. I bought a kindle (after so many years) because my friends from the book club said I would enjoy it. I have played more board games in the past 5 months with friends from work than in the two years I lived with my ex-roommate. I keep looking for non-Hollywood movies whenever I go to the movies.  

And the list goes on.