3 reasons why Mario Kart is helpful in real life

I’m pretty sure that everyone had a go to childhood game that they would play significantly more than others (If you don’t, I’m so sorry). Well for me, that was Mario kart. It was like my best friend and my mom’s worst enemy because what better way to procrastinate your responsibilities than play Mario kart? Exactly. there is no better way. Anyways, my mom got really tired of telling me to “stop playing stupid video games and do my chores/ homework”. It was kind of rude, but I didn’t take it personally because I know she was just upset– and people don’t think very logically when they’re upset, so I would pretend not to hear her and continue playing. she began to hate the game very quickly for that reason though:(

REASON #1: Mario Kart teaches how to be a cautious and skilled driver.

Before driving on real roads, I drove on the professional roads of the game that only the best of the best can survive on. You learn to avoid shells, banana peels, and other characters that don’t know how to drive (you have to avoid those people on the roads in real life too).  There are a lot of obstacles that you have to overcome in the game, and while you most likely won’t be driving on a rainbow road in space, It really prepares you for the hard driving every driver is going to have to face at some point or another.

REASON #2: Mario Kart enforces patience.

Incase you don’t know, this game can be very stressful. You can go from 1st to last place all due to the unlikeliness of falling off the edge of the road and dying. And then right when you’re set back on the track, you get hit with like 4 shells, shrunken, run over, and fall off again. Due to these very unfortunate circumstances, many people lose their tempers with the game and may possibly break their controller and/or tv over it. That’s a bit extreme, but it can, and does happen. (not that I would know…) And that’s where my theory comes in to play: Mario Kart teaches patience, a virtue everyone needs to learn one way or another. Me personally- I think this game is truly the best way to learn it. You have to learn not to get overly mad when a slight inconvenience in the game takes place so you don’t break your controllers. It took me years to master, but I can now stay perfectly calm when someone runs me off the road (in the game of course), or does any other manner of harassment to where I am no longer in 1st place.  Also, I’m just a patient person for the most part, and I really think Mario Kart has contributed to that.

REASON #3: Mario Kart bonds you closer with people.

I understand that this is a blog post that appeals to factual ideations and not emotion; however, this is a very important and positive side effect of playing this game. You can be playing Mario Kart with someone you don’t even know and all of a sudden, you both die together. (Once again- in the game of course.) It’s such a heartbreaking occurrence to fall in the water of that one place, or the dark abyss of another, which can automatically give you something to understand together. One minuet, you didn’t even know the person, the next, you’re crying with each other out of frustration. One of the quickest way to make friends and find empathy for each other.

I would like to thank my 2 main inspirations for this post: Leah (my sister), and Lauren (my cousin.) Thanks for always playing Mario Kart with me even though I always win. I’m sure that’s frustrating.

thanks for reading:)

 

 

 

Author: Katie Spiers

"You can't do all the good the world needs, but the world needs all the good you can do." - Jana Stanfield This is my favorite quote and is what I find myself striving towards everyday-- to do the most good I can.

4 thoughts on “3 reasons why Mario Kart is helpful in real life”

  1. This was super entertaining, hilarious, and informative…the whole package. I have not played this video game often, but your points make a lot of sense. I am sure this post can serve as a real eye-opener for those concerned with the game’s relevance, also. Thank you for this post, kt, for it was a pleasant read. Maybe I need to take driving lessons from Mario Kart. All in all, this was cool, and you made me laugh with your clever humor.

  2. I never thought of Mario Kart like that. I love a good game of Mario Kart. My friend and I always played it back at my old school. Thanks for sharing 🙂

  3. I was complete TRASH at Mario Kart, but I love to hear about what makes you happy! You got to teach me how to be a pro like you.

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