How I Am Turning My Passion for Gaming Into a Community Movement
By Jillian Johnson, Digital Marketing Specialist, Blue Star Families
Growing Up Gaming
My name is Jill, and I’ve been a gamer since I could hold a controller.
My first memories of gaming are playing Super Nintendo in the living room of our three-bedroom house in Southern California with my stepbrother, stepdad, and sometimes even my mother. We would play well into the night on weekends, ordering pizza and drinking all of the soda we could handle.
Games That Shaped My Life
When I met my husband my freshman year of high school, we bonded over two things: music and games. We spent every weekend together gaming, and he introduced me to games like Final Fantasy VII, Warcraft 3, and Kingdom Hearts. Role-playing games (RPGs) quickly became a favorite. While he was gaming on his PlayStation, I was gaming on his computer.
Later in high school, I discovered a love of tabletop gaming through Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). I loved being able to completely customize my own character, from their looks to their backstory. D&D gave me an outlet to explore not just different characters, but different facets of my own personality and how they intersect in social environments and teamwork.
How Gaming Became Our Family’s Bond
Gaming became a way to escape the world and to connect simultaneously. When my husband joined the Air Force and gaming was the only real entertainment we could afford for a while, we spent weekend nights after our young son went to bed playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and World of Warcraft. As our son got older, he also developed an interest in gaming. When my in-laws helped us get him his first computer at the age of 10, he started playing Minecraft. He still plays to this day, and he will be 20 years old in 2026!
Our family has since grown by two daughters, and we all game together. We play D&D, Warhammer, World of Warcraft, and we have a family Minecraft realm. While gaming is not the only way we connect, it is a significant part of our family life. We build together, laugh together, and collaborate in ways that we don’t often get to in “real” life. When my husband deploys, he will stream games for us during his off time to entertain (and at times “watch” the kids for me so I can have a mini break!).
Bringing My Passion to Blue Star Families
Now that I work for Blue Star Families, I want to bring that same community and connective spirit to our members through gaming. I started a virtual D&D event in September 2023, only a few months into my employment. I didn’t think it would be that popular, so I was blown away when the event “sold out” in two hours. We gathered volunteer “dungeon masters” to help us facilitate the event, mostly young airmen looking for an opportunity to give back while doing something fun. More than 50 people, ages 11-62, attended and collaborated to stop a fearsome dragon from destroying a small dwarf mining town.
Watching everyone navigate that adventure together brought me right back to those late-night living room sessions with my own family. It reminded me that gaming isn’t just something I do, it’s part of who I am. And now, I get to share that joy with others who may be searching for the same sense of belonging I once found in a glowing screen and a handful of dice.
That first event showed me just how hungry our community is for connection, creativity, and a bit of adventure. And honestly? That’s only the beginning. I can’t wait to keep expanding gaming at Blue Star Families and to see what new worlds we can explore together next.
Join the Adventure
Ready to game with us? Join the Blue Star Neighborhood gaming community and tell us what games you play, connect with other gamers, and keep up with what’s coming next!