Lately, I have been at a huge fork in the road with what I want to do with my life. A lot of bad luck, and hard times have come my way but I am grateful for the friends and support network that is in place to ensure success.
Let me paint you a picture:
Sometime towards the end of June: My two roommates who have known each other for a very long time get a sweet deal on a new house through one of their family members. Unfortunately, since said family doesn't know me that well, I'm kind of out of the picture and stuck looking for a new place.
August 7: I was unexpectedly told that it would be best if my last day at work was that day. I had given a notice that I was looking for a new job that could accommodate my needs a little more comfortably because of the fact that my rent was going to go from divided by 3, to just me. But for the sake of the business and relationships, that Thursday was my last day instead, rather than being able to secure a job first.
So, there I am unemployed.
A week or so goes by.
August 11: I nail an interview at a job that I am not super thrilled about, but I need income at this point. Landlords generally won't rent to you unless you have stable income. So, there we go. My background check takes some time to clear, and then we'll be good to go. If a different job offer comes up, then I'll do what I feel is best.
August 12: Short notice: it turns out I need to have new housing arranged by the end of August. With no new income, and not a lot of money saved to my name while still paying other monthly bills and debts, I am now expected to move out by the end of this month.
If you can imagine, it's been a stressful month, but there's your picture.
So, there were two major reasons that I was searching for a new job outside of the game shop.
1. I needed more money. The job itself was fine, but the wages weren't going to pay for an apartment if I was footing the bill by myself.
2. I wanted to commit myself to more Magic. It's been a dream of mine to go pro, but without the support to do so, (time to practice in Casual REL tournaments to prep more for Comp REL, and so on), I didn't feel good about it.
But in order for me to justify my commitment to Magic at this stage in my life, I needed to give myself a measurement for success.
So, last week I made this commitment to myself:
If by January 7th, I haven't made at least a grand total of $2,000 playing Magic, then I'll move back to Illinois.
You heard me. You see, Florida is a great stage for Magic players to grow and develop. And there are even a few big names in the area that I get the pleasure of playing against on a regular basis. There's no reason I shouldn't be able to be one of those names.
Now, I've made this goal attainable, and once I reach this goal, we'll set a new one. $2,000 isn't a lot of money, and with all the tournaments in the area, it should be easy to reach by January, even once I have a full-time job set in motion. It averages out to be $400 a month. I want to give a full disclaimer that making a living off playing Magic isn't the immediate goal. Making $2,000 by January 7th to make myself feel comfortable that I can reach certain level of consistent playing is the goal here today.
I've given myself a little incentive to succeed by agreeing that if I fail, I'll move back to the Midwest where the cost of living is substantially less. If I fail, the move probably would not occur until some time in March, or April - aka when it's not freezing balls in Illinois. The only variable that will keep me in Florida if I fail is if I have a career that is legitimately making leaps forward for me. I'll keep everyone posted on that.
Now, this is how this blog will work:
Each tournament I play in, whether it's Casual REL, or Comp REL, I'll write about my match-ups, my plays, and how much I won, if anything.
As of right now in tournament play since I made this commitment to myself, I have grossed $37.50. This is after three tournaments of play, Friday, Monday and Wednesday, (one was a GPT, which after chopping Top 8, I was the number one seed, and declared the winner, but I have no intention of flying to Salt Lake City). All of which I successfully Top 8'd, but I took packs on Friday instead of Store credit, which I immediately regretted. But my collection was at ground zero again, and I needed some trade fodder for post-rotation.
The blog I hope to accomplish a few things:
1. Advice. After I disclose certain specifics, match ups, lines of plays that I distinctly remember, I look for your feedback.
2. Obviously, if I win store credit, and buy certain cards, I expect this blog to be a great way to advertise it.
3. Support. I think for the most part most my friends in Florida would love to see me stay as long as possible. And I also think that my friends and family back in Illinois would love to see my succeed in something they know I am passionate about.
4. Set the example. I want to be a role model that despite the hardships we face on a regular basis, nothing should outweigh our determination to chase our dreams.
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