Slowly but surely I am making my way through Silver 1. A couple of weeks ago, I was stuck in/around low S1/high S2, and incrementally my "center" is moving up - I am now mid-high S1, with a couple of failed Gold promo series in the bank (looking forward to the free wins when I get back there!). It is challenging, how swingy League can be at times, be it over the course of one or multiple game sessions. I had an 8 game losing streak between Solo and Flex Queue, followed by going 5 of 7 after that. Two days ago, I lost three games ago before winning four in a row. It reminds me of the feeling of turbulence landing into O'Hare.

One of the big things I try to remember is that for me, I am playing this game purely for fun. I am not going to be in the LCS, and my stream makes basically enough to pay for the hobby, which is really great (thanks subs for that!). I have a wonderful career I love, a terrific wife, and life as a whole is excellent. So this is a video game, and when I play I have the choice of how I play the game. The thing I have to keep in mind is that no matter how my teammates and opponents play the game, I control what my champion does and that's what I can do something about. I can ward well. I can ping information. I can position in a way to help my ADC while not sticking out so far that I become a liability for a gank. And I can communicate, affirmatively, to help my team focus on objectives, avoid being ganked, and do my best to help them do their best. And at the end of the game, the better team will win, and we all move on with our lives.

And that, as they say, is that!