Post #300!

Hello Everyone!

I can't believe I have actually been writing about magic for 2 and a half years! Yet, looking over to the side column I can see how much I have written over the months and the years, and I am always in awe. My very first post on this blog was back in High School on April 19, 2010, and to say the least things have changed since then. For example, the second sentence, "I'm not much of a spike player, so this blog is dedicated to all the Timmys and Johnys out there." [sic] That clearly no longer holds true today. While I haven't lost my youthful fun for the game yet, I have grown significantly more competitive. This wasn't the intention when I started the blog, I just wanted to put my ideas out on the internet, I realize now that I can watch myself grow and develop as a writer and a player through my articles.

I started playing magic during my senior year of high school, took two years off, and now I'm in the second semester of my freshman year in college. In high school, I was incredibly lazy. I never did any homework, focused instead on my social life and sports, and in turn my grades weren't too great and I graduated in the lower 50% of my class of 350. I had enough sense to not go to college right away, instead working full time for two years. Then when I finally came back I have been doing much better, only 1 class away from making Dean's list last semester.

Clearly something changed in me over those two years. Being older doesn't necessarily mean you're any better or smarter or more mature, as I'm sure we have all seen a younger person rise above their older colleagues. Working full time in a warehouse surely made me reevaluate what I wanted from life, but it didn't sculpt me to be a better person. I can honestly say that my new found success in life can be attributed to playing Magic.

In those two years of no school, I found that I had nothing to work for. Classes were no longer a concern of mine, so I didn't have anything to study. As I played more and more magic casually, I was hit with a bug - I soon became filled with the desire to become the best player I could possibly be. I discovered websites like Channel Fireball and Star City Games and started reading everything I could, watching every video on YouTube out there. I made a point to play in every FNM, but I was in the store almost every day playing non-stop. I invested heavily into magic, especially in Legacy, and very quickly the results started arriving. I was consistently prizing or at least finishing with a positive record at FNMs, and I even started 4-1 in my first every SCG Open before receiving the harsh lesson of what happens when you don't eat all day while playing UB Control.

I didn't realize it then, but looking back I realize that I was a student of magic, and a very focused and driven one at that. I learned so well because I was so involved in what I was learning. Never before had I actually thought about why I learn the way I do, and how I can refine my study habits to learn better. I learned through Magic that I learn by hopping into the trenches, feeling around, and failing or succeeding by my own hand. This changes everything!

In high school I was always the cool kid hanging out in the back of the class with my legs kicked up on the desk's knee-height supports socializing with friends. I would listen to the teacher, but not take notes or ask questions. Now in all my classes I arrive early to sit in the first or second row and I always ask questions when I'm uncertain of what's happening to involve myself as much as possible in the learning.

If that was how Magic improved my life over the past two years, this story would be useless. Sure, I became a better student. But Magic's effects go beyond just being a better student, it's an attitude and an approach. In magic you decide how well you're going to do at an event before you show up with your level of preparation. If you didn't do any work on maintaining the best list or keeping a tab on the meta you won't do as well as if you did the appropriate things beforehand and through the event. In the same way I realized my success in class is exactly what I choose for it to be. I can choose to be successful and put in the time, or I can choose to be complacent and earn the lower grade I deserve.

In magic if you can't beat a certain matchup, you test it a lot and make changes to your sideboard and your card evaluations. In the same way if something is not working in other parts of your life, I far too frequently see people drop their goals or choose to lose instead of actively deciding to make it work. I was there once too. However through magic I am wired to always be proactive in solving problems and I won't give up on anything without at least exploring my options.

Through magic I gained a special class in economics. Last year I did a Pack to Moat trading project and through that I was taking a crash course full speed in the world of trying to gain value, something that we aspire for in every other element of life. As dumb as it sounds, I have noticed I have become significantly more fiscally responsible the more I have played magic. Now I constantly ask myself questions like "Do I really need this?" and "Are there other, cheaper options?" Now that I'm a college student, every penny really counts and has to go the distance, so figuring out being fiscal responsibility is even more important!

There's many more subtle things I could talk about thinking of the benefits in my life that Magic has had for me, but the bottom line is I'm incredibly glad I have had magic in my life over these past 3 years. I can attribute a lot of how my life has improved to the experiences I have had casting spells and becoming involved in the magic community. Thank you all for being supporters of my writing by reading it. Even if this is the first piece of mine you have read, I'm just happy to have my ideas out there and read. Thank you!

That's all I have for today! Until next time, stay classy!

Ryan Lackie
Ryan.Lackie92@gmail.com
@ThingsILack