Such fickle things, New Year's resolutions are. You're either a person devoted to them and takes them too seriously, doesn't take them seriously enough and either regrets your choices by the time the year ends or laughs it off as yourself and resolutions being a joke not to have been taken seriously in the first place—or you're stuck somewhere in between all of this.

I'm the person that's stuck in-between. Honestly, being stuck in between isn't such a bad state. It means you make New Year's resolutions, but that you don't devote and dedicate your lives to them and then waste away when they aren't completed. But it also doesn't mean you take them as a joke and just make a list to look like a good little member of society who makes resolution lists. It means you take them slightly seriously, but are a little more relaxed with the intensity that you attempt to achieve them.

For the most part, I personally think it's better to work in such a way. Treating resolutions as yearly goals is a better perspective in general. Why? Well, because that's all they really are, and you have an entire year to achieve them. It's always nice to sit down at the end of each year (or beginning of the year) and figure out some New Year's resolutions in order to try and figure out what your goals for the year are. Your goals change throughout the year, depending on what is most important to you and what is going on at certain points in your life. That's not a bad thing, which is why I think taking resolutions too seriously can be a bad thing. So it's always nice that New Year's comes around and everyone starts asking about resolutions—because it allows you as a person to sit down and think, "What is it I want to do this year the most?"

Above all, you should enjoy your resolutions. They are made and tailored with yourself in mind. You're picking them for certain reasons. They're something you really want to work to achieve. Achieving them can feel great in the end and really boost your self esteem, which is always a good thing. But it's always a good thing to keep in mind that you should achieve resolutions at your own pace, and it should be a healthy pace. It shouldn't physically or mentally wear you down. Resolutions are supposed to push you and provide a bit of a challenge, but they also aren't supposed to drive you into the dirt from overworking on them. Keep in mind your own health, your work schedule, school schedule—whatever it may be—when it comes to working on your resolutions. Some may be time consuming, and others may be easy tasks. Either way, they should be at least some level of fun for you, and they should also provide some level of a challenge and frustrate you just a little.

I know, I know, I'm sounding like I'm repeating the same thing and talking in a circle, don't I? But I'm serious. Something can be both challenging and frustrating but not immediately make you want to quit and make you dread it. Something can be both challenging and frustrating while also being fun. You really need to find that common ground when considering New Year's resolutions.

Now, I'm going to give you a list of my resolutions. Maybe this list will provide some inspiration for anyone reading this. Mostly, it's documentation for myself (as you'll notice, I'm talking in first person to myself).

My 2016 New Year's Resolutions:

1. Don't allow yourself to fall as low as you did last year. Stress is a serious thing with you, and you know it. 2015 was the ultimate year to allow yourself to get out of hand. Sure, you adopted two cats and they help with stress management—but now you need to look inward and figure out ways to de-stress and keep the levels low.
2. Get back on a weight loss regimen. You were doing so well at the end of 2014! What happened?! Try and work out twice a week. You're still really close to the 135 pounds that's your goal weight!
3. Drink 3 cups of tea. Every day. The max to help with weight and health is 5 cups a day. If you can't achieve 5, like you wanted to in 2015, then aim for 3 this year. Plus you have a cute new mug that Jeremy bought you for Christmas to enjoy warm tea in! Although not as healthy, iced tea is always good in the summer, too. Try to get yourself off the soda, though (not the Monster. Caffeine is needed for essential school survival!)
4. Take school one step at a time and pace yourself. Do NOT allow school to contribute to your stress this year. You WILL graduate and you WILL NOT be left behind. Just take everything slow but pace yourself to keep up. Work with Jeremy on this if you have to. Don't tackle everything yourself.
5. Do all school assignments ahead of time. You did okay with this during the first half of the fall in 2015, but then you fell behind. Well, no slacking this year! First and second day of school will no longer be syllabus review days only this year. You must work on the first and second day of classes and start homework right then and there!
6. Try to read a bit more this year. It's a huge stress reliever and although you don't like doing it while also reading assigned textbooks, you should because it's something you enjoy with all your heart and something you miss dearly. Try and read 5 books this year if you can. More would be better, but dedicate time for that over the summer!
7. Change the kittens' food diet. A resolution for your pets! Why did you even start feeding them Meow Mix? Sometimes, mother's don't always know best. You should've gone with your vet tech-gut instinct and gotten them something grain free from the start. Save their digestive system while they're still young!
8. Try to eat at 7pm every night. Dinner has always been a weird thing between you and Jeremy. You both eat enough, and you both eat healthy, but your dinner growing up was always 5-6pm. He grew up with dinners anywhere from 7-8pm. Try and eat at 7pm from now on to ensure you don't get sick.
9. Go to sleep at decent times. No more staying up until 2-3am just because friends ask you to and want to play League with you. You miss Ryan and you love talking to Alex, but you need to keep in mind your health and what staying up late does to you. Get your school schedule in order and figure out what days you can stay up late and play League with friends.
10. Wake up at decent times on weekends. Try not to sleep until 2pm anymore. It's nice, and is sometimes needed, but waking up at 10-11am is also nice and allows you to allot times to get things done!

I've been playing The Sims 4 pretty much non-stop since fall semester ended almost a week or two ago. As soon as I started playing, I got hooked, and ended up buying more expansion packs and stuff packs than I really ever intended...whether that's a good or bad thing, who knows. But hey, at least I've had something to keep me busy this winter break!

I currently own The Sims 4, Get Together expansion pack, Spa Day and Outdoor Retreat game packs, and the Perfect Patio Stuff stuff pack. I'm debating on spending more Christmas money on getting the Get to Work...but I'm waiting so patiently for pets and weather to be implemented.

Despite the game being fun, there are still some things I like and dislike about the entire setup. Since I've currently got nothing better to talk about, I'm going to share them with you. Now keep in mind, all of this is explicitly my opinion. These pros and cons may not be the same pros and cons everyone else shares with me. I'll start with the things I do like about the game:

PROS

CONS

All in all, The Sims 3 is still my favorite and The Sims 4 definitely needs some more expansion packs. I haven't even had Get Together (the newest one as of this month) for that long and I'm already considering buying Get to Work, and from what I've read it's not even that spectacular of an expansion. Sigh. We'll see.

I know the game is still new-ish, technically. A year old now? I also know expansions take time, money, and a lot of work. But I hope that the creators are working diligently and fast to create more expansions that aren't buggy and bring new content to the game. I'm really hoping for some weather and pets to spice things up and bring in new social interactions soonish. Because while groups are amazing on Get Together, they don't add that much of a new element. Sure, there's fun things to do with them, cool hangouts, specific social interactions, and overall clubs have needs and interactions. But it just feels like a more needy child version of the "form a group" action.

Sims 4 definitely has its perks, though. The fact that it's seamless is one of them, and also the fact that the creators finally seemed to figure out what they were doing with moodlets, aspirations, and achievements is really nice. I do enjoy the game. I'm stuck between the simplicity of The Sims 4 and the complexity of The Sims 3.

I love eSports. I'll admit, I'm not a huge fan and I've only been into it for two years, more recently so this year. But I am a fan, and I love it, and I am getting more into it. Mainly, I am huge into League of Legends. Not only do I play League, but I watch games by the pros from all over the world, and I even watch their world championship event.

When I started playing League, I was taught how to play mid lane. I'm not the greatest at laning in general, and I'm not the worst. But I play League with friends majority of the time, anyway, so I'm just sticking around to have fun. And watching the professionals play is something I consider fun! My boyfriend, after I became well enough at mid lane that I gathered the basic knowledge and now needed improvement, once linked me to a montage video of a Korean professional midlaner who went by the name of Faker, and played for SKT-T1.

Immediately, I fell in love (in a different sort of way!). Awkward on camera and in interviews, with a shy demeanor, Faker has a presence when he plays that is not only intimidating but awe-inspiring. Some people call him a "God" and while I agree he is an impressive player who is pretty insane at times, to me—he's just Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok. And I am his fan.

But I also have always had my eye on another SKT player—MaRin, the top laner. While I don't play top lane myself, and I'm not very good at the mechanics of the game, I have always admired MaRin. He's a huge team player and very good at shot calling. This year was his year to shine. Especially during Worlds. Some of the plays MaRin called, initiated, and otherwise were just...wow. On top of it, I love MaRin out of game, too. He's humble and seems very kind-hearted.

Now, the top performer of the year and MVP of the 2015 World Championship...is leaving SKT-T1. Why? Well, no one seems to know. All anyone can do at the moment is speculate. MaRin, while twenty-four, only has two years of professional League of Legends under his belt. And his performance during the 2015 season was top-notch. He's now considered one of the best top laners of the world.

But that best top laner of the world is just leaving.

Where to? Why? I need answers. My heart is aching due to this announcement. Which has apparently been known earlier in November—however I'm just finding out about it today, and I'm extremely saddened. Not just for the fact that MaRin is leaving my favorite team in general, but also because no one seems to know where he's leaving to. Is he off to another team? Or is he on to the next big thing? I mean twenty-four years old isn't exactly young, but it isn't old either.

I just want to know where a player that I fell in love so deeply with in the 2015 season is headed off to, and why. I just want answers. I seriously almost cried earlier today.

Either way, I suppose I should say that I love MaRin enough to support whatever decisions he comes to. Whether his departure is permanent or whether he's changing his loyalty, I will always appreciate what he brought to SKT. If he is leaving permanently, and retirement is in store, then I can only thank him for an amazing two years. He made me love eSports more and more as I watched him play. If he finds a new team, I will continue to support him and I will stand behind his choices.

Still, I'm gonna need a tub of ice cream. Maybe that wine ice cream I see all over Facebook...