Here comes 2016 around the bend... o goody.

So, I haven't been posting to my DA page in quite some time.  There are a variety of reasons, and I hate to use them since they can be viewed as excuses.  Still, regardless of them being viewed as excuses or not, I will just come out and say them.  First thing that comes to mind is DA feeling like a ghost town.  Deviant Art no longer feels hospitable to me.  When I first came here, it felt bright, shiny, and unique.  I don't like being mean.  With that being said, DA feels like aged milk instead of wine.  Another problem comes from the contest that come out of the blue.  They feel enticing, yet I feel like the little 3' 6" kid with mom and dad at the carnival who says "I want to go on that ride" and finds out he's too short.  Only contest I had 1/2 decent fun with was a photography contest.  If you're gifts and talents don't reside within the digital medium of the contests' choosing (typically digital art and such), you're pretty much SoL.  Of course, in the end, it's up to the individual/company running the contest as to how it should be conducted and DA can be viewed as just the conveyor of said contest.  Anyways, petty little whine there, so I'll be moving on.

Another reason that comes to mind is the audience to which I'm trying to reach right now.  I feel much more comfortable on another site for fictional writing vs. DA. 

As for myself, I'm hoping things turn out alright.  Things were going great with real life as I'm back in school working towards converting what seems like a useless degree into something much better.  Overall, things just felt better.  Now it seems a monster has reared its ugly head again.  I just hope, in my heart of hearts, this is a minor scare for someone else, someone dear to me, and what occurs is just a scare, nothing more. 

Anyways, I do want to give out some thanks in this little journal update.  I want to say thankyou to the live streamers out there that I have the pleasure of watching.  It's fun to interact with you, watch you draw, and gain my own inspiration for when I write my stories.  The second bit of thanks goes out to the brony community for getting me into writing.  It's been going on for almost 4, possibly 5 years right now.  In my opinion, I still believe myself to be an amateur, however, I'm starting to feel more and more like a seasoned writer as I come to understand how things work.  I even managed to write a series of stories for some writing prompts where I managed to interject my own ideas for a fictional setting.  In all, writing brings me a lot of joy.  My body just relaxes, the ridiculousness of the world around me fading away as my mind concocts various stories.  Final bit of thanks goes out to the Imgur community for making me laugh and such during those trying times, the same goes for the aforementioned person who's dear to me.

New Years resolutions?

*I want to become an even better writer than I am right now.  I'd like to write some damn good works that will allow me to ascend as both an individual and a person who wants to be a professional writer.
*I want to get my new degree so I can get a job.  The job I had showed me the difficulty of things -- difficulties I already knew about -- and helped get me some extra $$$ to do things.  With this degree, I do hope to go into a field I'll enjoy for a bit.
*Bit fandom related, but I'd like to make a decent fan fic story that gets noticed.  I hope to do it with the story that I've been working on for near 4 to 5 years, but that probably won't happen.  Still, I can say I put my heart, as a writer, into the story. 
*Like others, I want to get in shape/keep myself in shape. 

I hope others had a better Xmas, Christmas, Festive Holiday, and such than I did, and I hope others realize the potential of their New Year resolution(s).