The Daily Otoshi

A while back, I questioned why I write so many drafts and never actually post them. 

Part of it stems from the fear of sharing my ( true ) life story, because it’s scary to be vulnerable. While this blog is supposed to be for others ( and myself ) to learn through my experiences, I’ve forgotten that and have instead, attached weight to the image I present of myself to you reading here. That is something I want to learn to let go -- to be honest and share what’s really happening in my life and not the fantastical, edited, “perfect” version where the lessons are skewed in favor of making my life look like all is going well.

Another part is that I realized drafts are my way of communicating to myself. Where I might not be sure where I’m going with an idea, but it’s something important and exciting floating around in my head that I want to explore in the moment. I have a few of these “epiphany” moments everyday, where they’ll often fade away if I don’t get them down on paper, but I don’t often go back to revisit them ( or make them shareable ). 

I used to think these unpolished thoughts wouldn’t be interesting for others. That they weren’t worth reading because they weren’t refined or curated for who’s reading. But it goes back to the reason why I’m writing this blog -- to share my life and my story. It’s not supposed to be about refinement or an audience in-mind, but about the observations and moments that I experience. 

Maybe these drafts are a look into my inner thoughts. Maybe they’ll reveal something useful to someone passing by. They’re not doing anything useful in the draft box ( like this one was ), so maybe I’ll just share them to see what happens. 

It’s a strange feeling when everything seems like it’s coming together. 

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been introduced to three different people who all could be important people  in my indie game design career. 

One of them is involved in community building and advocacy in games. Aside from being an excitable and avid gamer with similar tastes in genres, they have an extensive network in the indie scene and participates in many of the major expos that happen throughout the year. Their work is more on the experimental side as well, which I appreciate for how innovative and different it is.

Another is an amazing UI / UX designer who has an appreciation for games and how to make them better. We met through a mutual friend and started working on a level tracker app for the Munchkin card game that lets players more easily track their stats. The app is really well designed and has inspired me to think about what other games could use helper apps ( in particular, Sushi Go! and Tokaido are a few that I’d be interested in working on ).  

The last just left their full time position ( programming ) to do game design full time. They use GameMaker as their primary engine ( which is rare with Unity’s popularity ), so that’s already one area in common; not to mention their focus on innovation, storytelling, and good design. They also have similar long-term goals in trying to start a small studio and build a team, so with all that together, we have a lot of areas in common that I can appreciate. We’re planning to do a collaboration to see how our styles match and I have a good feeling that it will go well. 

Synchronicity ~ May 30th, 2017

I stumbled upon a moving dance routine by Merrick Hanna today ( May 30th ) on America’s Got Talent and what followed can only be described as synchronicity. To begin, the routine ( in the video above, which you should watch now! ) tells this wonderfully emotional story of a robot and their creator through a fusion of popping and contemporary that ( to me ) really worked with the soundtrack.

After watching the performance ( and tearing up a bit ), I was curious to where the song ( “I Built a Friend” ) came from and did a quick search to find the artist, Alec Benjamin. The most popular search topic led me to this video, where Alec spoke about how he was inspired to write the song. It was really cool as a fellow creative person ( me ) to see how his process was so.. random. Like, he just had an idea and followed the spark until the song was complete. Super relatable for me, because that’s often how my creative process works too.

Back to the synchronicity, on the right side of YouTube where other similar videos are listed, I noticed the official music video for “I Built a Friend”, so I clicked on it to put all the pieces together ( from Alec’s video on how he came up with the song ) and enjoyed it. Afterward, I went learn a little more about it in the description, and I see it. 

May 30th. 

The day that Merrick Hanna’s performance to “I Built a Friend” was posted is the same day that Alec Benjamin, the writer and singer of the song, released his official music video for the song itself, “I Built a Friend”.

After two years of development, my first game ( Slide Squares ) is finally out! It’s a simple and minimalistic puzzle game with the goal of combining the same colored squares until only one of each remains. With 99 fun and challenging levels, can you solve them all?

You can download the game with one of the links below for just $1.99 ~ ( iOS ) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/slide-squares/id1225815954?mt=8 ( Android ) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.otoshigames.SlideSquares

If you enjoy playing it, please leave a review in the App Store and also like and follow the Facebook page for future updates.

Thank you for supporting my dream to make games independently~ More updates coming soon!

100 Days of Art

If you’ve been wondering where I’ve been recently, I just finished a creative journey to create a piece of art for the last 100 days. The experience was insightful, inspiring, and eye-opening in so many ways and I’m grateful I was able to commit and stick through to the end ~

Below, I’d like to share a few of my findings, plus a link to the final gallery.

Passing the Initial Barrier

With many kinds of new goals and habit-forming activities, there can be a barrier of getting them to stick, and that definitely was the case with this one. My first few days of growth and progress were initially inspiring and I found myself putting in 3 or 4 hours each day to explore the space and create high-quality work -- but by day 7, that energy had quickly faded by the busyness of life and I found excuses rising more and more frequently.

The real grind for the challenge happened between week 3 to week 4 for me. I found myself spending late night after late night of creating and wondering if all the sacrifices ( sleep ) and struggling was worth it. 

It certainly was.

Once I passed the initial barrier, the habit began to stick and creative ideas for sketches began to appear more and more frequently. By day 30 ( sometimes the norm for art challenges ), I felt like I was cruising and 100 days, while still far away, felt totally achievable. 

Riding the Creative Waves

Doing a creative project for so many days in a row showed me just how unpredictable creative energy can be. There were times where I felt totally in flow -- letting the creative process guide me to pieces I had no idea I was capable of creating. But there were also times where I didn’t feel the flow at all and had to force out every shape, color, and idea.

Overall, the process helped me better understand myself as a creative and how to appreciate the moments that were filled with inspiration, while being ok when other moments weren’t. Having safe and familiar spaces ( for me, video games ) to fall back on when the creativity isn’t there was especially helpful for me to get through the uninspired times. Sometimes just creating something helps get the creative energy flowing again, and a seemingly uninspired piece can be the catalyst to a creative outburst ( March 15th --> March 16th is one such example ).

Putting Other Goals into Perspective

Accomplishing this challenge put into perspective how much time is available in 100 days to learn and grow. By day 50, I felt like other challenges I’ve been putting off like learning a language, learning to be a better writer, or posting here on this blog daily were much less daunting than before. 

In some ways, committing to one goal is like committing to all the others. The more we learn and grow the skills to accomplish challenges, the easier the next challenge will be to achieve ~

In Summary

The 100 day challenge was an insightful and well-lived experience that I’d recommend everyone do at some point in their lives. For one, it’s a very personal experience that helps us understand our habits and current routines. It challenges our perceptions on how difficult something really is and how long it actually takes us to learn and get good at something. 

It pushes us past the initial barriers of wanting to quit -- till we find a creative groove that reveals new talents we were unaware were inside of us. It takes us on a journey that we can look back on when we’re done puts the power of 100 days into perspective. 

Best of all, it shows us that with a little dedication and perseverance, perhaps anything is possible ~

Day 34 ~ February 27th, 2016

This year, I’m trying a new daily reflection system to get rid of distractions and stay more focused. At the end of each night before bed, I think about what took up the most time that didn’t help my productivity. Then the following day, I try to remove that distraction altogether to see how it changes the productivity and flow of the day.

It’s been two days so far, and the productivity hasn’t improved too much yet, but I do feel it’s working.

The first day, I found that my phone with internet was a constant distraction. Everything was too accessible and I found myself getting sucked in to YouTube, Tumblr, and Facebook over and over again just because it was there. Even though I didn’t use it for more than 10 minutes at a time, I checked so often that the short sessions added up. 

To try resolving this, I put my phone on airplane mode and it helped not having immediate access to the most distracting apps, but I still found myself wanting to check my phone. So since having the phone nearby seems to be the problem, I’m going to try turning it off altogether for a day to see how that feels.

The second day, I found that Hearthstone was not only taking up too much time, but actively draining my energy by mindlessly grinding on ranked matches. 

I deleted it from my phone and put the Battle.net client in my computer’s trash to take a break from it. I have a tendency to go all-in with strategy games that have no ending, so till the rest of my routine is organized, I want to take a step back and focus on the more important tasks in front of me. 

Hello and Happy New Year!

The not so Daily Otoshi is finally back after accumulating quite the number of adventures in 2015. For a quick recap -- It was the year I traveled to the most new locations ( charting new territory in Chicago, Seattle, and New York ), the year I created my first complete physical card game ( about roasting marshmallows ) with the help of the Otoshi cousins, the year I began audio archiving my family’s stories to preserve their history and hear the tales of their past, the year I met new best friends, strengthened existing ones, and reconnected with some of my closest friends of the past, and finally, the unfortunate finale where I caught the stomach flu days before New Year’s Eve and spent it bed-ridden and sleeping.

All-in-all, a lot of adventuring and learning happened that will soon be recapped here over the upcoming weeks ( for real this time ).

The new goal here is to just write a little something everyday. Even if the quality isn’t like the first few weeks of content, something is better than nothing and it will get better over time as I reconnect with writing out my life reflections and managing a blog.

So with that, expect more content soon and cheers to a new year of observations, ideas, recommendations, and writings from The Daily Otoshi ~

Hello friends and followers!

I’ll be traveling to New York for the first time tomorrow and am super excited for all there is to experience and explore. If you have any recommendations on things to try, please reply here or send me a fan mail.

Also, I know I haven’t exactly been writing new content since my last post, but I have been drafting out some interesting ideas to explore and promise there will be something new by the end of the month.

Hello friends and followers!

I’ve been away for ages and it’s time I hit the restart button and get back to writing my daily thoughts on life. Somehow 7+ months have passed since the last time I wrote and plenty of adventures have happened since. 

Look forward to story recollections of 2015 over the upcoming weeks, plus recommendations for podcasts, videos, and articles as I find them around the web, plus daily musings, life observations, etc. I’ll also post more about the game projects I’m working on, give a better look into my day-to-day life, and talk about what my goals are for the future. 

Whatever comes about should exciting, so I hope to see you again soon!

Thank you for being a part of this journey and cheers to many more adventures to come~

In my experience, I've far too often set goals toward an ideal future, only to find them being met short by irrational excuses of why they won't be achievable. There's often a sense of over analysis, where time is wasted thinking about why goals will be difficult instead of using that time to see what happens.

I recently pondered what was preventing me from committing to these goals and I concluded that the act of starting was the most difficult part. Once started, goals were usually much easier than in contemplation -- where putting the pencil to paper was often more difficult than the actual writing that followed.

I was setting new goals with a close friend the other day and decided to try something new to break this pattern of not following through. Instead of setting the achievable, but semi-difficult, long-term goals, I decided to set super easy goals that were in their easiest and most minimal form.

These are the goals I set this week --

NUTRITION ~ Eat one piece of lettuce ~ Eat one piece of fruit each day EXERCISE ~ Take 1 step outside each day ~ Do 1 push-up each day ~ Do 1 sit-up each day WRITING ~ Journal 1 letter each day

CREATIVITY // DESIGN ~ Draw 1 picture each day ( --> . counts! ) ~ Code 1 line each day ~ Design 1 concept each day

Then I tried it and was surprised to see it working. Each goal was so trivially easy that the opportunity to overachieve the real goal was much easier. I found myself eating healthier meals, getting outside to exercise, designing new content, and reading books (which I hardly ever do ).

They sound ridiculous on paper, but they're undeniably achievable, which removes the barrier to entry. There's no longer time to ponder if they should be done or not. By the time the thought is had, they're already started and finished.

My, my. I haven't been around here for a few weeks and that's a total bummer. Here's to getting back into the groove of things =]

For a recap of February so far, it's been a drama-less, straightforward kind of month. I can't say I'd want it another way, but it has been a little boring at times and hasn't added anything too exciting to my life story.

Recently, life has felt a little lonely, and I guess I miss the times before "grown-up" responsibilities took away most of the people I care for, at least during the Monday - Friday grind. I feel I'm growing distant to a lot of people these days and it's scary to consistently find that once close kin no longer see the friendship we once shared before.

Luckily, not all has been lost and I have been getting to know a few, newer individuals that I'm especially grateful for. Seeing them every week or two has been a consistent burst of inspiration and motivation, and has positively benefited my well-being and self-belief to create the games of the future. I really don't know where I'd be without them and all I can say is that I think we all met for a reason. To whatever we'll create together, I'm looking forward to it!

In my more lonely times, I've been watching a lot of TED talks and hearing all the people speak about their passions has encouraged me to one day speak at a TED talk. I know I'm not an eloquent public speaker, but to be able to talk about something different and passion-filled just seems like it would be exciting. Hopefully as I discover more about games and how they can be used positively for our collective well-being, I'll get such a chance~

Speaking of games, game projects have been going well and the people I'm collaborating with are creating some especially awesome content. I'm really glad these projects are progressing the way they are and now it's up to me to get the gameplay fun and engaging so all the pieces can come together for a release in the hopefully nearer future. More updates on this in a few weeks!

Overall, it seems like everyone is getting busier and busier as they grow up and I'm just not used to it all yet. Most days are eventful in some shape or form, but they still feel like they're missing something. 

We all have an ideal future we want to live, so what's stopping us from making it happen? 

In pursuit of independent & entrepreneurial ventures over the last year, I'd like to share 4 steps that have been invaluable toward creating my ideal future. 

Hope you enjoy and find a few tidbits for your ideal future~

1. Identify your passions: 

Even though it sounds like an obvious question, have you ever taken a moment to really ponder what your favorite interests are? Do you know what makes you happy?

Is it drawing? Writing? Physics? Filming? Economics? Programming? With young people? With old people? Without people? Tech-related? Travel-related? Or chocolate making?

Whatever they are, knowing the broad spectrum of interests that make you happy is important. They are your foundation. Your core. Your special blend. They are your keys for creating something that is different and uniquely you~

2. Set your intentions:

Next, what are your intentions in this world? Why are you doing what you are doing? And why is that important to you?

Do you want to help other people? Make lots of money? Design better objects? Research the human mind? Find a cure to cancer? Become a superstar? Or make other people smile?

These are your mission statements. They will lead you to where you want to go. Then connect them with your passions and achieve the outcomes you desire while still doing what you love~

3. Adapt as you grow:

Then, adapt as you grow. 

Intentions are organic and may change as you change yourself. As new experiences come and passions grow, goals and dreams may evolve or wither away. 

Check-in from time to time to see if your passion and intentions are still aligned, then update as needed. It's perfectly ok to make changes, and the more you feel connected with what you're doing, the happier you will be~

4. Do what works for you:

Finally, plain and simple, do what works for you. 

Everyone is different and an approach for another may not be the best approach for you. Remember that you're the only person who truly knows what's best for you, so it's ok to disagree and follow what will make you happy. 

Listen to your instincts and put your values and intentions first~

In summary --  Know your passions. Set your intentions. Adapt as your grow. Do what works for you.

I never really understood the deeper context for why Freedom Writers is one of my favorite movies, but re-watching it tonight revealed some new insights. 

In the past, I was blind to the ideology that some educators ( and the system ) gauge student abilities on academic success ( grades ) and anything less than passing means students aren't trying hard enough and are subsequently less intelligent. And also that some educators ( and the system ) look down or assumedly give up on a certain demographic of students because of socio-economic, racial, or other stereotypical judgments that such students are incapable of understanding or being able to learn. 

The film highlights these biases with characters like the supervisor who cares about the school's academic success over the betterment of the school's students, or the privileged teacher who talks about the low-income // poverty-stricken students like they're deadweight and are a rite of passage to move up on the teacher ladder to get 'better' students. 

I've unfortunately encountered such educators in my own academic experience that not only made me feel inadequate with their teaching methods, but occasionally expressed that they didn't care about individual success or demonstrated that they clearly didn't prioritize the classroom first ( with their lack of preparedness // ability to look outside the educational system's box ). 

These educators, consciously or unconsciously reinforced that critically challenging the world around me was "wrong", and if I didn't write the essay a certain way ( 5 paragraphs about the one way to analyze the book ), or solve the problem in a very specific manner ( find x, without using equation A or B and only C ), that I was somehow less intelligent, according to the grading scale and the system. 

But luckily there's the rarer character foil of these educators, and that's why I appreciated the main character, Ms. Gruwell so much. She continually reevaluates why she's at the school teaching the low-income students and follows her beliefs despite the resistance from the system. Even with the initially ignorant disapproval of her father and the violent chaos of the school, she understands that getting through to these students is important and does all in her power to help. 

She shifts the context of the content so the academic material is meaningful and relatable to the lives of each student. Then she facilitates creative expression and academic confidence through the journals of their stories. And then she shows her genuine interest for each student's well-being over and over and over again, showing them that they are each individually special, able, and important with the ability to succeed.

I've been fortunate to have my share of Ms. Gruwells as well. 

The educators who inspired my creativity and nurtured my passions. The educators who asked me why and encouraged critical analysis. The educators who understood my nature and adapted to support my learning. And the educators who ultimately believed in my well-being and success as an individual. 

These are the true educators. The ones who made a real difference in my life. 

Without them, who knows who I'd be or where I'd be going. If I'd have followed my dreams to be a game designer. If I'd have gone to UCSC. Or If I'd have the ability to critically analyze the world and have a lens to better create positive social change. 

I honestly don't know. But I feel life would be much different. Different in a way that was lesser. Lesser with less potential to make a positive difference.

So I thank each and every one of you for believing in my abilities. Each of you have created real change in this world by positively influencing the confidence, growth, and success of the life I am living. 

January of 2015 hasn't quite been the new year start I was looking for, but perhaps the resulting time for introspection and reflection is exactly what I need to start afresh and put life into perspective for the future to come. 

New Year's Day:  To start off the year on New Year's Day, two best friends from middle school and I started our first annual New Year party tradition. It was awesome and homey, feeling just like the nostalgic Friday game nights we used to have with Mario Party 2, pizza, and talks of the old middle school days.

Making it even more special, we Skyped in the final member of our group from Korea to the party. We reminisced about the many tales of our past together --finding and sharing old pictures, gifts, and letters we had sent over the years to remember how much we've been through over our 10+ year friendship. 

I often take them for granted, but I love these friends dearly. I can't say where the future will take us, but I look forward to many, many more years with these awesome people  =]

Being sick:  Being sick so many times in a row was frustrating and  b  o   r    i     n      g, but it taught me that I can't rush into everything at the expense of health and the body. When I initially got sick, I tried to push through the headaches and congestion, focusing on the work that needed to be done and the emails needed to be sent, but I wasn't getting better and began to feel worse each day. So I took a break. The game designing and blogging and emails could wait.

I focused on nutrition. I focused on exercise. I focused on the body. Health was first priority.

Then I slowly got better. Nutrition was healthier, exercise was more routine, and overall I felt more relaxed. Even though I dislike getting sick, there's always a reason why I do, and I'm glad it led me to a more healthy lifestyle~

Starting The Daily Otoshi:  I originally intended to start a game design blog this year to detail perspectives on design and the game industry, but I found myself starting this one instead. I really don't know how it happened, but I'm grateful to have a new public space to share and I'm thankful to know that people near and far are reading. 

Thank you!

Global Game Jam: I almost didn't participate in GGJ 2015 this year, but I think being sick actually gave me more of an excuse to go for it. Knowing I would be home and in bed anyways helped me feel like the commitment of having to finish wasn't necessary and that the goal was just to make something small and for fun.

I feel I managed both a small scope and an engaging development process this year. I didn't finish the project yet, but I did discover new interactivity that sparked an idea for a future project ( which maybe is the goal of a game jam anyways ). In general, I've made so much progress since Global Game Jam 2014 and participating this year helped boost confidence in design and programming, which makes me excited for what i'm capable as the year continues.

Game Project Progress:  Speaking of progress and capabilities for game projects, I have three games underway this year -- Domino Fighters, Raindrop Hop!, and Music Box. 

All are moving along slowly and picking up momentum, which is exciting! I have a feeling this will be the year that a lot is going to fall into place, so as I learned above -- take it slow, continue to believe in myself, and keep on growing toward the future I want to live. 

Salma's Passing:  It's been a few days since Salma passed away and each day I am reminded that I should get going on my ideal future because life is short and unpredictable. 

She and I weren't especially close, but she was someone I always rooted for because of her genuine positivity and happiness for life. When friends and family members described her as an angel, I can see how that was an accurate descriptor of her spirit and personality. If I were to pass on to the next step and was greeted by Salma, I'd feel at peace. That is the gift she carried in her nature -- an inner calmness and happiness that made every moment feel safe and pleasant.  

In many ways Salma helped me wake up and realize that it's time to go and get things done now while I'm still here and healthy, and I am grateful for that.  

Thank you for waking me up Salma and I hope you are in a better place~

Korematsu Day:  I am so thankful I attended the Korematsu day memorial this year and the experience was invaluable in reconnecting me to my Japanese-American roots. I've always been thankful of my Japanese background, but I sometimes forget about the struggles and past events that had to happen for me to be here today.

Hearing stories about the civil rights activist Fred Korematsu in his battle against the injustice of Executive Order 9066 ( Japanese internment ), was inspiring and legendary, and gave me a newfound lens to view the internment period through. In many ways, it was the first time I had been exposed to the truth of what it was like to be in the internment camps, especially with the guest appearance by George Takei, who detailed his recollections of the events from his childhood. 

The event made me think back to the play I wrote in college ( A Bomb in Nations of Japan ), about the civilian and military perspectives of the Pacific War between Japan and America, and the development of atomic bomb. I had forgotten about the ability and power to be expressive in the history of Japanese ancestry, but thankfully found new motivation to continue writing and represent the struggles of those before. 

Looking forward to Korematsu Day 2016!

Overall:  A lot of unexpected events happened this month, but overall I'd say I'm on track for the goals of the year to come. Looking forward to what February yields, see you next month!

The world stopped when I heard the news of your passing today and I really can't believe you're gone at such a young age. 

It's difficult to know that someone as special as you is no longer here in this world which has surely benefited from your presence. But I also know you wouldn't want me to be sad or dwell in your passing, so instead I wanted to say why I'm grateful for all the times we shared.

I am honored and thankful that I was able to meet you during my time as your freshman NA in Biko. You had a way of bringing the best out of everyone and there were plenty of times when your positive vibes made my day and kept me going during the tough times of college. Our Biko family wouldn't have been the same without your energy and optimism, and your natural ability to be a supportive friend is something I'll always look up to you for.

Even though you may no longer be here physically, your positivity and always-loving spirit will forever live on in the hearts of those who love you. And even if your time was short, you did change the world and brightened each and every day of your lifetime. 

I don’t know when it will be, but I eagerly await the day I become a father. 

There’s something mystical about the thought of being a dad and I smile at how exciting it will be to raise and nurture the future Otoshi generation to come.

Even though I’m only 24 and have been out of the romance scene for about 95% of that time, I still think deeply and often about what it means to be a parent. 

To me, parenting is one of the most important concepts to be conscious of because there’s immense responsibility in raising a child. In the first few years of a child’s development, they’ll watch every movement and action, observing what we do as a frame of reference for their future. Even when we’re not conscious about what we’re doing, they’re still watching and trying to mimic and memorize our behaviors. 

We’re under the spotlight at all times.

But even through such responsibility, I look forward to the moment that a child starts to form their own opinions and interests. The first time they choose a favorite that’s different from my own. The first time they’re able to have a conversation with me and truly understand what we’re talking about. Or the first time they say, “dad, do you want to teach me how to ride a bike?”  I look forward to many first-moments to come~

I think the societal roles of what parents are supposed to be // act has shaped the minds of many toward forms of discipline and authority. In much of parental portrayal in the media, there’s a sense that the parent knows best, and that the kid better listen, or else be grounded, lose privileges, or the infamous, “go to your room!”.

But I really don’t get that approach and don’t feel it’s best for supporting a child’s happiness, motivations, and success. To me, being a parent is about letting a child grow to the best of their ability in the areas that bring them the most joy and smiles.

As a future father, I want to support a child in whatever sparks their interest. To teach them that dreaming big and doing what they love is exactly what they should do in this world that often says the opposite. When they find a new passion and want to learn something new, instead of telling them to do it from afar, I’ll join be joining in and we’ll learn together. 

I think one of the greatest gifts about children is getting to watch their development and having the chance to learn along side them. It’s the joy of learning from an entirely different person with interests, mindsets, and perspectives all their own — figuring it all out for the very first time.

As future Papa Otoshi, my goal is that a child will far surpass me in every way. That as I grow old and gray, they’ll take the skills and talents I once learned and develop them further than I ever could myself. 

I look forward to the day they beat me in a video game. The moment where they surpass me at one of my greatest passions. I’ll probably cry, and I’ll be so proud of them~

I want to be a father who is supportive, attentive, and pays attention to a child’s likes and interests. Who cooks them breakfast each morning with a smiley face of ketchup on their eggs. Who doesn’t just tell them how to do the homework, but sits alongside and helps them figure it out on their own. Who demonstrates that following one’s passions are more than just ok, and definitely preferred. And who actually wants to play Pokemon with them and help in catching them all, ( however many thousands of eevee evolutions by then ).