My favourite subject in school is history. I love it in (almost) all its facets, the military, the diplomacy, the politics, the study of what people did. You can say that my interest began at a young age, reading lots of children's books on castles or the Romans, but what really got me into the subject was a game: Age of Empires II.

I was nine, and a friend had given me a pirated copy of the game. I was instantly fascinated by the campaigns and the background to the actual gameplay (at which I was pretty bad). I learned a lot about history in general, I loved playing around with castlebuilding or crushing an enemy with a huge army. I loved the evolving and changing missions, reflecting a real battle, more a long, progressing struggle with sudden interruptions and changes than a simple fight. I spent ages creating my own scenarios. I loved playing the game, and it shaped me.

Fast foward to the present day. I'm 17, and going to choose the specialist subjects for my final exams in 2 years. History is definitely going to be one of them.