EPTNow, put on your hipster shades, and enjoy this song while you're reading!
SO. It's been a while since I've blogged, but this is already starting to feel like I'm giving a speech or doing a recitation or something. Hmm, I think I'll open with a small section on vocabulary! I can't stress the importance of vocab. Learning roots of words is great, and if you even look at the word "vocabulary", you'll see the prefix "vocab-", which I assume has something to do with vocal. So suppose I didn't know what it meant. I actually have no idea where this analogy is going, so I'll just stop here. Main thing is, learn your vocabulary, and you'll sound more intelligent and write more fluently.
I'm not saying I write extremely well. If you look at a write-up by Waxangel, Heyoka, or maybe HawaiianPig, my blogs pale in comparison. I'm not talking about "not enough sun" pale, but something along the lines of #FFFFFF white. (For those of you who don't get it, too bad.) But hopefully, the "arbitrary" in my title lured some of you intellectuals into the hellhole that is the Blogs section!
Writing takes practice, believe it or not. You'll run into writer's block, you'll write a paragraph that expresses your thoughts perfectly, then you'll have thoughts that you can't express properly (r/tipofmytongue, anyone?), but I guarantee you'll never run out of ideas. Unless you have a really shitty prompt. Don't you hate it when that happens? I know I do. It always turns into a horrible essay when I have a bad prompt. Absolutely no exceptions.
Your first song's probably over. Anyhow, try this next song and keep reading. You're doing good.
On the subject of bad prompts and bad essays, SAT readings are the next big thing. I think the big question is, WHO THE HELL WRITES THESE THINGS? Why are they so damn boring? Why can't I read through the whole thing without wanting to smash my head into the wall repeatedly? More importantly, how do the authors manage to write them? I would probably get writer's block at least 10 times in one reading. No wonder the ETS guys get paid so much.
SAT scores. Everyone wants that 2400. Unfortunately, you'll have to work your butt off to get it. You may ask, how about the 36 on the ACT and SAT 2? Well, you're just going to have to pull it off through some miracle. Seriously, that's how it feels! I took the SAT in seventh grade, and got a 1760. Granted, I was pretty retarded back then, and I don't know how well I'm doing now, two years later. You may wonder why I'm worrying about these things now. Well, they are a pretty big deal to me, no matter what you college kids and upperclassmen may say.
Sure. Freshman year may be the year to kick back and relax, fail classes, smoke and party all day long, and still have a cushion, right? Freshman year is BEGIN OF THE CAREER!, quoth my very Asian mind. A 4.0+ GPA is mandatory, and you need to participate in all the clubs! Plus, I've got PSAT coming up soon. Maybe I'm putting too much pressure on myself. Maybe this is how high school is supposed to be. But right now, it just feels like an uphill climb.
[Unrelated tangent time!: Pet peeve: Usage of "a" and "an". Get it right, folks. An is used before vowel sounds, as seen in "an hour". Use "a" for everything else.]
Enough about school! You're already stuck in it for 40+ hours a week, why spend more time reading about it? This is a Starcraft forum! I got promoted to Plat yesterday.
In addition to the promotion, I pulled a Flash, and called a proxy hatch before scouting it in a practice game with a friend. Highlight of my day. Sad life, huh?Is your song over? Here's the next one.
A while back, I read some threads about how macro is not the most important thing (implied) in lower leagues, and how you have to learn to micro and other fancy shenanigans before focusing on macro. This is absolutely UNTRUE. You need to capitalize on macro. Macro is absolutely the most important thing in lower leagues. Yes, bronze league IS that bad, and silver, gold and plat aren't that much better. If you scout properly, you might lose to cheese or an all-in once in a while, but you'll be moving towards that promotion more rapidly as opposed to someone who focuses on micro.
That being said, you shouldn't run ht without storm into MMM/roaches. >_> i liek to moov ht into mass lings :D:D:D:D
Since I'm in plat, I am probably in a higher league than at least one person who reads this. I can assure my macro is far from good. What do I still do wrong? I float, I get supply blocked, I don't scout properly, I don't take expansions at the right time, and I don't have constant production. So, why am I in a higher league than you? Simply, I've either played more games than you, or I'm further along on the macro scale than you. Practice is the only definite way to improve macro.
Of course, watching the crowds cheer at GSL and MLG is awesome. But MVP or DRG won't teach you how to macro through a VOD. A stream might help, but until you practice it yourself, you won't get better. Focused practice is the best way to improve. Cecil, Ver, and BaekHo taught me this. In the wise words of WhiteRa, more gg, more skill.
I'll leave you with a last question to ponder, or maybe a phenomenon to consider. Perhaps, it's a simple truth. This is the 80/20 rule. Does it apply to Starcraft? Maybe not, maybe so. Leave your comments below! I look forward to hearing from you.
Poll: Do you like my music choice?
You stole my ladder points. (2)
67%
It was great, ♥ (1)
33%
3 total votes
It was great, ♥ (1)
3 total votes
Your vote: Do you like my music choice?
