My Inspiring Letter of How I Overcame Obstacles of Becoming an Arcade Legend and Moving Up in the Wo
My name is Jason Lundgren and I am from Mukilteo, WA (just thirty minutes north of Seattle). I have broken a lot of arcade scoring records in the retro gaming world which includes, but are not limited to: Five scoring world records, ten worldwide and twelve Nationwide trophies at Highscore.com, and a whole lot of respect for my peers and beyond. I also have multiple mental disorders including Asperger's syndrome (a high functioning form of autism), depression, and social anxiety disorder. Despite all of my setbacks, it never stopped me from becoming an arcade legend. Craig Willey, whom was the owner of my local arcade sports bar called Replay Cafe until he sold it to Steve Hneikia over a year ago, helped me get out of my shell and molded me to become the person I am today through arcade and pinball machines. My first big break came in November of 2015 when I attempted the world's highest score of the 1989 beat 'em up side scroller, Final Fight. This game propelled me into becoming a competitive vintage player with the likes of Billy Mitchell and Brian Kuh. My first record breaking experience was January of 2016 when I broke the world's highest score in the 1988 anti-drug side scroller game, N.A.R.C., at the same place. I also set records for N.A.R.C., The Simpsons, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time. It didn't stop there as I began breaking records through the one credit, no continues website called Highscore.com. Ever since I entered the website last Thanksgiving, I have won 87 total trophies including twelve Nationwide trophies and ten worldwide trophies for my high scores. With my pedigree, this makes me one of the rising stars of the vintage game world. One of these days, I like to face the greatest arcade player alive today and his name is Billy Mitchell. I would love to go face him one on one someday whether it would be Pac-Man or Street Fighter II.
I don't plan on slowing down anytime soon as I'm becoming better with age, patience, and skills and not just with video games. I also have been employed at my local Safeway at Lake Serene, WA for over sixteen years with my first promotion from courtesy clerk to bakery clerk last August. If I keep up the great work as a bakery clerk, I might get promoted to bakery sales sooner than later. My main goal right now is to become the Safeway's baker in about five-six years since I love working at the bakery department very much. Even if the whole professional retro gaming doesn't work out, at least I have Safeway as my back-up and possibly becoming a baker at the same store I was hired over sixteen years ago.
Just like my local sports idols Russell Wilson, Felix Hernandez, and Gary Payton, I would like to set a high example for people who are in the same position as I was and that you can accomplish anything you want if you set your mind and get motivated to do the things that you have the desire to do. I'm also going to better with time, patience, and skills not only at video games, but also at work and in life as well. I want to be to the arcades what Robert Gagno currently is to pinball. I just want to be the best player that I can be and make new friends while doing the things I love the most.