Name: Ben

Social Media Handle/Username: UnhappyCamper40k (Twitter, Tiktok, Twitch)

Introduce Yourself/Tell About Yourself: My name is Ben. I live currently in upstate NY with my mother and several siblings. At 24, I have not achieved much truthfully, though I am still young.

I work at a bookstore, and while I enjoy the work, I truly wish I didn’t have to work. I despise the monotony of selling my labor just to scrape by, and wish dearly I did not have to. I am not exactly lazy per-say, but I find the notion that I will likely have to spend the majority of the next 40 years either unconscious or at work to be utterly depressing. I crave freedom to explore my passions and do as I wish, rather than be tied down to an hourly position for minimal pay.

What would I do then if I were free? Hard to say really. I’d likely spend entirely too much time playing video games, but I do have a creative side to me as well that I would wish I could further explore. I paint miniatures for a hobby, but I’m also a writer. For years and years I’ve had day dreams of a Fantasy world of my own creation, and slowly I am making those dreams a reality. The only question is now, can I profit from this or will I be doomed to be another writer who’s only audience is himself. Who’s work resides entirely on his google drive. Never to be seen or shared.

Such is my fear, yet I must not dwell on such things but strive instead ever onwards towards the new horizon. Wish me luck.

What Inspires You Every day? : Consuming and collecting. So many people take people as their greatest joys in life. I do not. I appreciate the need for people, but as a die-hard introvert anti-socialite, I rarely purposefully seek their company.

Instead, I get my kicks from staying home, playing video games, and collecting miniatures, watching films and TV and youtube, adding more content to the ever-growing list of what I have consumed.

Were I ever trapped in a time-loop ala Groundhog Day I would no doubt spent decades combing through books, movies, TV shows, and countless other forms of media that could be conquered in a single day to experience and absorb all that I could. That would be my heaven. An endless loop of days wherein the only thing saved from the last is my place in a book or my save-file in a video game.

Should there indeed be a heaven, I hope that I would be granted such a place as I could absorb and experience every single piece of content ever produced by man. That would be my heaven. An eternity spent in endless consumption of media.

Oh, and if I had endless minis to paint, I’d do that too. And food. Lots and lots of food.

What is some words of wisdom you live by?: “To bring peace, there must sometimes be war”

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” The Golden Rule. Easy answer.

“No relationship is better than a bad relationship” It is easier by far to remain single than to involve yourself in a toxic relationship. The same could be said of one’s family. Far better to become a black sheep than to endure toxicity.

What is your ultimate goal in life? : To enjoy it.

How have you been during the pandemic and how has it affected you? : Fiscally it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Emotionally it’s… probably also the best thing that’s ever happened to me. The six or so months I spent at home, getting large unemployment checks, and not having any real responsibilities was absolutely the best time of my life. I’m awful for hoping this and I know it wouldn’t be the same, but I wish we could have another wide-scale shutdown with boosted unemployment, just so I could experience that glorious time again.

What is a message you would like to give others? : If the way you live your life doesn’t hurt anyone, then no one has the right to criticize it. No one.

Fear and Hatred have always, and will always be strong than Love. Use this information carefully.

What else would you like to tell others about you or your life?: Not much more to say really.