That's a great question. One that I ask myself everyday. Not because I'm fed up, frustrated, or anything like that. I've only been playing for four months! But rather because I have a ridiculous amount of anxiety, and I am emotionally unstable. The game triggers both of them, and makes it difficult to log on. So a big reason why I play is to face my own anxiety and emotional fears, and each time I log off, I see that all that fear is irrational. I just wish I could get it to stick.

I have goals in-game as well. I want to experience the MSQ. I want to group with other friendly players and help them in obtaining their own goals. I want to be a great healer someday and a completely self-sufficient crafter. I have my eyes on glamours, mounts, minions etc like everyone else as well, but I don't grind for others. I grind for me. I'm the one who has to look at my character each and every moment in the game, and it is up to me to create a great experience in-game involving that.

True, that eventually each of us will log out for the final time, and we can't take anything gained in those long hours with us when we do. But you can take the experiences, the memories, the screenshots, and downloaded tracks from the game. You'll hopefully be able to look back and remember how many smiles, frowns, tears of joy and sorrow have been brought to you by the magical world of Eorzea.