My New Years resolution

2010 was an interesting year for me. I went from struggling college student with no direction to a games journalist known for being professional, but also for being a bit of a dick. It's not often that your life shifts like this, but I sort of stumbled upon everything. It's sort of like falling into a random building to find that you've entered a really good party. Only problem is that said party has a few jerks inside it.

However, one thing that I think can happen during the holidays is that your perspective can change. I'm not a big fan of really going too in-depth about the goings-on in my family, but what I will say is that my family made me see a few things. Fact of the matter is that I have a niece, two nephews, and another niece on the way. All of them either do look up to me, or will. The question that I have to ask myself is this: "Am I setting the right example for them?"

At the moment, the answer is a really big question mark. I'm a good journalist. I write well, I speak well, I'm well educated, and I'm intelligent. That's quite a few advantages. However, I did the one thing that I swore I would never do in my life. I let the things that separate me from other people consume my mind. Don't get me wrong, I think that there are huge problems within games journalism, and I truly believe that if we amplify everything, we hear nothing.

Thing is, it's not right for me to hold what makes me good at my job over other people. So, in essence, I'm done caring about what other people do or say when it comes to journalism, because I don't think that what they do or say matters. I think that what matters is who people trust, and I think that my methods make me trustworthy. When I wake up in the morning, or go to sleep at night, I don't need to be thinking about what others are doing. I need to focus on being the best that I can be.

So, my New Years Resolution is to take the question mark away from my head. I'm no longer going to let a bad attitude sour my skills or my ability to contribute to the games industry as a journalist. My focus this year is simply being the best I can be for whatever site that I work for. It's the attitude of a freelancer, and that's what I am. I don't worry about the website. That's for the heads to worry about. I worry about what work I'm putting forward. Well, that and if they're paying me or not.

So, with that said, Happy New Years, everyone. I plan to make the most of my 2011, and I hope you do too.