My life as an assassin began on April 1 at 12:10 a.m. When I was assigned my targets, my life changed to one of distrust and paranoia. I loaded my crossbow along with a box of 100 bullets into my back seat and went to sleep with thoughts of elaborate schemes floating in my dreams.

Senior Assassins (SAs) is a game I played this year that used nerf bullets and lots of organization to coordinate 85 people into an activity. Each player was assigned two targets with the inheritance of targets given to the person who confirmed the target’s elimination. This game opened up mornings, lunches and late nights of “hunting” along with hours of preparation, finding addresses and the every move of your targets.

Information became my obsession. Every conversation I had created a web of knowledge that helped me close in on each target. A friend’s whispers led me to a two hour stake out, that ended with a lunge through the backseat of a car. Then an attack after a swim practice left me with four more targets. My time continued to disappear as “hunts” continued as few could rival the pace of eliminations that I was on.

My already easy school schedule, time spent at home and other important parts of my life fell to the wayside as the competitive and deceptive nature SAs replaced each one. It took a toll on many parts of my life, which led to a few regrets, but I had never enjoyed myself this much at LASA until SAs began.

High school was a game of slowing the decline of my grades and interest in my classes since the first day of sophomore year. My goal became to enjoy my time and minimize the stress I put on myself. Whether it was going out on Wednesday nights to get Froyo or sneaking into Barton Springs at 1 a.m., I found myself tossing academics and stress to the last possible moment just to enjoy a few more hours with my friends. SAs was the prime, all encompassing example of what I did instead of focusing on school.

In the moment I distracted myself with what was new and exciting, and before I would return to what was constant I would have to tire of the new. I live in the moment. Impulses defined most of the decisions I made. In every moment since April 1, SAs has been new and constantly changing. It has never lost its appeal, and as a result, I am still thoroughly entranced by my latest obsession.

I can only categorize LASA as the inspiration for finding distractions. This inspiration has taken me out of the house at every hour of the day, forced me to find creativity I was determined I didn’t have and given me every opportunity to discover what I want to do. Despite the conflicting message this piece may display, LASA will always find a way to inspire it’s students. It may not be in the way you expect, but eventually every student realizes what LASA has given them. If you doubt me, you can find me and ask me yourself. UT Austin Class of 2023.