5 a.m. She plays. She watches.

A small blue light illuminates the dark room.

She’s focused, not taking her eyes off the screen even for just a second.

Her fingers move methodically, quickly prancing over the controls. She never glances down.

As sophomore Catlyn Crespo plays her favorite game, Call of Duty, she escapes into a world of her own.

“I kind of am a gaming nerd,” said Crespo.

Crespo’s interest in video games began two years ago. She started playing for fun, now it’s a hobby of hers.

“I think it’s really cool,” said Crespo.

Over the past two years she has formed bonds with people from all over the country. Crespo has become close with this group and trusts them as she would any other friend.

“It’s not like they can start rumors about me,” said Crespo.

Lately, she has been watching live stream games more often than actually playing. Her favorite players to watch are the boys from OPTIC Gaming. She hopes to meet them one day.

“It’s just like playing a sport,” said Crespo. “You play at your games, but you also watch professionals.”

She has been catching the attention of boys at school because it is uncommon for girls to play video games, however, it doesn’t bother her.

“I get a lot of invitations to play games at guys houses,” said Crespo. “It’s kind of funny.”

Gaming has become an outlet for Crespo. It allows her to cope with stress and other related emotions in a healthy way.

So she plays and she watches until it’s game over.