Why I Love Sonic The Hedgehog

But not his annoying little friends.
Anyone who knows me, knows I have a seemingly unhealthy obsession with this little guy. Why is it? What is so appealing about a blue hedgehog with red sneakers that goes the speed of sound? The whole concept is ridiculous.

Here's why.

When I was a kid, my parents were having the hardest time getting me to read. I couldn't stand it. To me, it was an enormous wall of symbols - they meant nothing, they did nothing, they were far less interesting than my Beatles Yellow Submarine VHS tape.

Until one day, I was in my town's general store. In the back, on a magazine rack, sat a select few comic books who's colorful covers attracted my attention deficit afflicted young eyes - Spiderman, Batman, Punisher etc. I didn't understand what they were - I had never seen a comic book before, but I was intrigued. My mom decided they were too old for me, but after a bit of whining I managed to convince her to buy me Sonic the Hedgehog issue #20.

I still didn't know how to read very well - I ended up needing it to be a bed-time story - but the idea of a comic book was inspiring - a picture book that showed you exactly what was happening every second... it was like watching a movie on paper! Hardly the most sound of logic, but it got me reading, and collecting.

Sonic taught me to read. Sonic taught me about comics.

Next came the video games. Soon after, I discovered that this strange animal thing... (who looks nothing like an actual hedgehog, I soon learned) pervaded more than just the literary world, and I first got my hands on Sonic & Knuckles for the Sega Genesis. I had played video games before - my best friend had Mario - but this was very different. This was fast. The design of the gameplay was simple: you just kept pushing forward until you caught up to an obstacle, jumped over it, killed a bad guy (innocent baby animals trapped inside evil robots) and then you would push forward again to zoom on your way. I got really good (I made it to the second level on my first rental!) and from then on I was hooked.

Sonic taught me how to play video games.

Over the next few years of my childhood, I wanted to be just like Sonic. I ran in circles around the playground looking at my feet trying to get them to blur. I wore almost exclusively blue. I got my mom to make me chilli dogs (I ended up hating them...) But what I really loved about him, was that no matter what happened, Sonic the Hedgehog was always ready for adventure - always happy to save the day.

At my age, and especially for someone like me, it's easy to get bogged down in life. Money, the future, girls, all that shit - it's stressful, and worrying. I worry, you worry, everyone worries. Except Sonic. When he's got a problem, he runs at it head-first. There's no mincing words, he just does the right thing.

I'm not the best person in the world - in fact, sometimes I'm a real asshole. But when it counts, I try to remember this simple question: WWSD? And the answer is simple - just do the right thing. Just be happy.

Sonic taught me that when I'm down, all I need to do is just cheer-the-fuck-up, and keep pushing forward.