The Support Factor (Personal Story)

Often times, I ask myself what does support truly mean? Growing up, you establish your first support system in the form of your parents as they encourage you to learn through life’s obstacles. And as you continue on in life, many more tend to add on to that team through friends, co-workers, support groups, even pets. It is a standard norm of society.

These are the people who will be in your corner, encourage you to push ahead of the fears and doubts that we all have when trying something new. Or lift you out of the sunken hole of emotions after a bad break-up or loss of a job.

Growing up, my biggest support was my mother. I remember anything my siblings and I ever strived towards whether that be sports or band or just learning how to skate or ride a bike, she was always there to cheer us on. Through the successes and failures, she always managed to be there with open arms, letting us know that nothing is impossible. I lost that support the day she passed away. And even though I know she’s still cheering me on in spirit, it’s still not the same as having someone physically there.

For years, I’ve always had friends, family members, co-workers say to me “Good luck”, “You got this” or “You can do it” with anything I’ve attempted to achieve. But it always felt so empty and I could always sense it. It wasn’t that same feeling I got with my mom. And I continued to try to find that validation with these same people knowing it would be the same outcome.

It had taken some years but true support for me didn’t surface until I met my now friend, Kurt. We’ve known each other for almost 10 years now and I still remember the day we first met. I met him one night while attending a New York Games Forum event (now known as Playcrafting). He was showcasing his game and afterward I got the nerve up to talk to him about it. And oh wow how my hands were shaking. From there, we had our run-ins at all the game developer events.

Kurt is the true definition, to me, of a support factor. Kurt was the first person who not only said the words “I support you”, he also showed it with every encouraging action. And up until this day, he continues to do so. He’s the first person since my mom that I aim to make proud of all the projects I take on (it’s a lot lol).

He also opened my eyes and showed me that sometimes it takes a while to find the right one that will be in your corner, who wants to see you succeed through the times where you don’t see it yourself. Over the past few months, we have tightened our friendship. I’m learning a lot about him as he is about me. And he is someone that I’m happy to call my friend.  

But it didn’t stop there. If one wasn’t enough, I found myself lucky enough to make room for more. When I’m not writing, playing games, or working, I am a part of this amazing community on Twitch with a funny, crazy yet caring streamer whose name is Frankie. He is ½ of The Stank Podcast on YouTube. I took on the role of supporter in 2018 and in return I received it right back, which I didn’t expect.

Frankie has shown me that encouraging words when used the correct way can have a huge impact on someone. Although he can’t physically show it, he has been there when I needed him the most. And although I never ask, he’s always there to throw support behind me. He reminds me every week that there still are people out there who can back up what they say in a positive way.

And if he wasn’t enough, I managed to get 2 more just like him in the form of his twin brothers, Nick and Chris. They have been by far 2 of my biggest fans, never letting me get too down on myself and always there to throw the same support back at me that I give to them. Even though we’ve never met in person, I feel as though I’ve known them forever. Even better….they’re die-hard Yankee fans like me.

So I think what I’m trying to say here is that sometimes support can come from places you least expect. Having someone who is behind you in life is one of the most important aspects to have. No one can or should be left alone to go through the everyday obstacles we go through as a human. We all need someone to believe in us as well as someone to believe in. I’m lucky enough to have 4 special guys to show me how important it is to have someone in my corner. It takes time to find the right ones so don’t give up on others and most importantly don’t give up on yourself.

Until next time, this is Tammy saying keep strong, keep positive and nothing’s impossible!!!

Social Media/Stream follows:

Follow Kurt on Twitch for gaming, music/game dev & chat @ https://www.twitch.tv/kurtiswow/
Follow Frankie on Twitch for gaming, chat and fun @ https://www.twitch.tv/falvarez8085/
Follow Chris & Nick on Twitter & Instagram for all talks Yankees and baseball @ TwinTalkYanks

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