Community Focus - Gumpita

Gumpita: Hiya! My name is Jen, but I go by Gumpita/Gump online (yes, it is a Forrest Gump reference, great movie btw). I was born and raised in Southern California, but recently moved to the Netherlands to close the gap in my long-distance relationship. I have been a content creator on Twitch for a little over five years now, and when I'm not gaming, I enjoy watching films, Bullet Journaling, and learning about how to successfully keep my many houseplants alive.   

Growing up, my older brother and I would bond over video games. He was the one who introduced me to the SNES and games like Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario World, TMNT, the Street Fighter games, and so many more classics. We eventually got a Nintendo 64 and that was where my love for video games really started. I used to play a lot of Super Smash Bros., Banjo-Kazooie, Bomberman, Diddy Kong Racing, and of course the Pokémon Stadium mini-games. As newer consoles came out, I got into Call of Duty and encountered many "noob tubes" until I was introduced to Destiny. 

Gumpita: When Destiny first came out, I was dating someone that had just bought the game, so I was watching them play it daily. I remember being really intrigued by the PvP and how the Supers worked, as well as how cool it was to be able to get lost on the different planets and locations. So I knew I wanted to try it out myself. My step-dad gifted it to me for Christmas in 2014, and I have loved the game ever since. I'll never forget my first Public Event -- I was just minding my business in the Cosmodrome when suddenly my screen went dark, and I started hearing weird noises, so I got scared and turned it off. I really thought I got tricked into buying a horror game...   

Eventually, I found myself playing a lot of PvE activities by myself because I wasn't very good at Trials, which was the only thing my friends were playing at the time. They would sometimes talk about this guy named "tripleWRECK" and his Twitch stream, so I decided to make an account and get to know people on the platform in hopes of making new friends that I could play with. I spent a lot of time in his streams, as well as SchviftyFive's community. I remember being in awe of this pink-haired, confident woman playing games and hanging out with people in her chat, so I felt inspired to do the same! My first stream was a solo Crota raid, and although I had zero viewers, I had fun and knew I wanted to do it more. c: 

Gumpita: My channel has definitely come a long way since that solo Crota stream! During the early days, as I got to know more people in the community and made new friends, we used to do this thing called "PvP Karaoke," six of us would load into the Crucible, and whoever ended up at the bottom of the lobby had to sing us a song in the Tower. We also used to get together every week to help people through King's Fall raids. Some of the people I met during those raid nights are my closest friends today! Although KF is not around anymore, I still enjoy helping my community get their Deep Stone Crypt raid completions as well as teaching new people how each encounter works.  

Lately I've been title-chasing and putting a lot of time into Grandmaster Nightfalls, which I had never done prior to this Season. It has definitely been challenging, but very fun to learn about what builds work best and how armor mods work. On those days when I need to switch it up and play some PvP, you'll catch me stealing my teammates' kills in the Crucible and whiffing my Super. c: 

My community is my priority when it comes to streaming, it always has been. We have channel point redemptions where we share bad jokes with each other, so if you're around long enough, you're bound to hear one. You might even catch a glimpse of the real star of the show, Loafito (he's a bread plushie; everyone loves him). I try not to take things too seriously or get too wrapped up in whatever activity I am doing, and just focus on having meaningful interactions with the people that are willingly spending their precious time with me. So although I love to play video games, I got started on this platform to make friends and that's still what I love to do. 

Gumpita: I have been a Hunter main in Destiny since day one, and although I've swapped through all of the subclasses throughout the years, I always come back to Golden Gun + Nighthawk for PvE and Spectral Blades + Dragon's Shadow for PvP. Since I've started GMs, bottom tree Nightstalker with Sixth Coyote has been very helpful as well! However, I may or may not sometimes enjoy playing on a Titan... maybe. 

Hand Cannons have always been my favorite weapon type, and I use them for pretty much any activity! Lately I've been giving my new Igneous Hammer a whirl in PvP and I've really been enjoying it, but The Steady Hand is also one of my go-to weapons. In raids and other PvE activities, if I'm not the designated Divinity user, I'm probably using Anarchy.  

Gumpita: You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @xGumpita, and live on Twitch five days a week at twitch.tv/Gumpita (late night/early morning for NA)! 

Gumpita: "Kindness begins with the understanding that we all struggle."  

If you're reading this, I encourage you to be kind -- to others and yourself. Put positive energy out into the world,and use every day as an opportunity to learn and be a better version of yourself.  

Thank you for your time, it's an honor to be a part of this.