Adulting is hard.
Writing a check, tying a tie – even executing a confident, professional handshake – are all learned skills. And those are just the relatively little things in life. The big things – like changing a career mid-stream, managing a serious, sudden illness or dealing with a car breakdown and repair – can be downright paralyzing, even for those experienced in the game of life.
LifeX, a life-sized board game simulation, is designed to give young people practice with big decisions and life choices. The game, which stands for Learn, Imagine, Freedom and Explore, was developed by One Stone students as a way for young people to consider adult decisions in a fun, engaging format. Students roll dice and spin wheels to recreate life’s unexpected events, but also make conscious life choices along the way, like what kind of house to buy or whether to buy a car or public transportation pass. This week, One Stone lab students partnered up to play LifeX, and learned a lot about themselves along the way.
Makiia J. and Cassidy F. record their career decisions before moving on to the next step in LifeX.
Makiia J. experienced a sense of the quick passage of time during the game, which she expects will happen in adulthood as well.
“It’s going to feel fast in real life too, like, I’m already having to pay for my kid’s wedding?” she explained.
Her partner, Cassidy F., felt that LifeX gave her perspective on finances, and how to save for big, life-enhancing things, like paying for your children’s college educations.
“(It was educational) to see all the expenses that you’re going to have to pay and plan for, and even things that you can’t plan for, knowing that they exist,” said Cassidy.
“Start off small. Like, don’t buy a really big house or a fancy car.”
By the end of the experience, Makiia and Cassidy came away with three pieces of advice for their real-life, future selves: enjoy the present, live small in order to have more resources for other things, and save up to give their own children more opportunity.
Another team, Eleanor B. and Beau S., were surprised to find that although they traded medical technician careers for lower-paying teaching jobs during the course of the game, they were still able to save enough money to enhance their lives and enjoy rich experiences, such as skydiving in Dubai and hang gliding in Brazil.
“Start off small. Like, don’t buy a really big house or a fancy car,” Eleanor recommended.
“We bought a mobile home and a metro car,” added Beau," “and we stuck with them.”
The LifeX game ends when players reach retirement age. Students then spend some time reflecting on their “life” – both the good and bad choices– then write down advice to their future selves.
This spring, a group of One Stone students will facilitate the LifeX experience with students at the Booth Marian Pritchett High School.
For more on the LifeX game, including a look at a past visit to a local high school, click here.
