[growth, sustain, death, and looking forward] - AtlasOmega 2024 Retrospective

 2024 was probably one of the best and worst years for me. I'll explain.


Let's start from the top. January through July was by far the best my 2024 could have been. Outside of work struggles, FGC related stuff was nothing but growth and finding my groove with UNI2. Finally breaking out of pools, and placing well at Frosty Faustings, Crossover Arc, and Slashback. It slowed down for me a bit right before EVO, but I still did pretty well, all things considered.

I was also given the opportunity to volunteer at all of the above events. I learned a lot when it comes to bracket running and overall event running, and have been taking those skills to my own local, making it better than ever. 

During each of these events, I was able to hangout with a ton of people and it's really showed me I have a lot of friends in this community. This is something I've always questioned, as I'm relatively standoffish by nature. It may not seem that way now, but that just shows how much I've changed in the past couple of years.

Sadly, the latter half of the year did not go smoothly. Work hit me with new requirements, which I was forced to meet at a very rapid rate. This forced me to isolate myself and focus on getting those certifications. I have them now, so things would be better, right? Not quite. 

 

Before I get into why, I do want to talk about Climax of Night real quick. Going into Climax, I knew I was not gonna be able to perform to my normal standard that I showed at the previous 4 events. I had recently completed a certification and had maybe 2 hours into the game a month leading up to the event. I performed as well as I expected to, but the joy of the event was hanging out with friends and getting to spend time with those who I've really wanted to hangout with for quite a while. The event ended and it was good vibes. Sadly, this didn't last. 

 As many of you know, my Grandmother (who I call my Mom, since she raised me) passed away. I'm still struggling with this. I haven't had a consistent sleep schedule since November. Her memorial service is next weekend, and should be my final closure. I never got to show her the figure I got her for Christmas this year, but it's now displayed with her other fine china at my parents house. 

Getting the news of her being in the hospital, while out of town, extremely drunk, put me in a very conflicted mental state for about a week. I later got past it, as there was nothing I could no, nor was there anything that could have prepared me for her to be in the hospital while I was gone. I'm better but I don't think I'll ever truly be the same again.

 

That said, the amount of support from my friends and the UNI community was so great and honestly a show to me. At CoN, before I got that phone call, many were telling me how much they appreciated me and how loved I am. It's something that's hard for me to fully understand sometimes, but it makes me happy, knowing that I have so much of an impact on people and that people genuinely care about me. I know I didn't really reach out to anyone while I was dealing with all this. It was honestly very hard for me to do that, but knowing that I could come to yall if I needed someone to talk to was enough to keep my going, not gonna lie. I am simply grateful for everyone.

I'm still struggling to get back into UNI. I've been playing on and off and my skill level has dropped, I feel. I have a lot of work to do to get back to where I was and to get to where I want to be, but I know if I keep working at it, I can get back there.

Quickdraw Brawl, the FG local I run, has experienced significant growth in 2024. The logo is now synonymous with Texas and the FGC, and it makes me so happy how much of an impact it's had, as well as those who come out each month to participate in the event. I always talk about a couple of big things I want to do with QDB, but this year, I plan on putting those concepts to paper. If I can make the QDB major a reality in 2026, I'll be over the moon.


That's it for the year. Time for the shoutouts, as usual.

Rina, AuraDude, Funkyard, Kai
The QDB TO Crew. Thank you to all four of you for helping in making QDB what it is today. Thank you for being there for me during my highs and my lows. Thank you for being some of the best friends a guy could ask for. I love yall so much.

Defiant (Defi):
We really grew closer this year and I have nothing but love and appreciation for you. You are truly an amazing friend and I feel blessed that I get to share moments with you. I am extremely proud of what you accomplished this year and I can't wait to see what else you can achieve in 2025.

Jaytsu:
Our chance meeting at Frosty Faustings was something I never would have thought would lead into a tight friendship we have now. You're honestly an amazing guy and I appreciate you. Here's to both of us kicking ass at what we do best in 2025.

Lid:
Thank you for being a content fiend and a good friend. You helped give me perspective on UNI quite a few times and it helped get me out of old habits. Keep going homie.

Ruric:
It's been said many times before, but I truly appreciate your friendship. You're one of the most genuine people I know and I have so much respect for you.

Tabby:
Every time I see you, it's like seeing a sister I never had. I honestly love you a ton and appreciate you being there for me in many ways this year.

Gio:
We got to talking more this year and I honestly love your presence and energy. Thank you for being there for me in a dark hour.

Trock:
We finally got the chance to hang out a bit more at CoN and you're the homie. Thank you for being you and for your kind words during my dark time. Appreciate you heavy and I wish nothing but greatness for you.

Mario:
Love and appreciate you brother. You and Jess are two of my favorite people and I thank you for your friendship. Looking forward to seeing you and hanging out with you and the west coast homies more in 2025.

To the QDB community:
Thank you for sticking with me and supporting me and the event this year. Yall are a huge blessing and I'm thankful that we have such an amazing community. I'll continue to do amazing things with this community this year.

To all others not directly mentioned:
I'm sorry I don't have more individual shout outs. There's so many and they'd all say about the same things. I appreciate each and every person I get to call a friend, homie, what have you in this community. The end of this year really showed that there's a lot of people that really care about me and I am nothing but grateful to each and every one of you. Thank you for being bright spots in my life.

I'll try to be more active in voice calls and other community happenings. 2024 beat me up pretty badly in the latter half.


Well, that's it for me. Thank you for reading. Let's all kick ass and do great things in 2025.

[love, atlasomega.]

[theme of the year: saba - photosynthesis]












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