With freshman year of college ending and summer starting up, I've been playing Starcraft 2 quite a bit. In fact, this is the most I've really ever played it and it's grown on me quite a bit. I made a switch to Zerg a few months ago just because it looked fun, and enjoyed it a little bit.. but it always felt so weird not being a Protoss player like I was in Brood War. I would watch White-Ra stream and just think "man, I don't even play that race anymore.." I improved pretty quickly as Zerg and got to the finals of a tournament that I'd like to think had at least some decent players in it, but still felt somewhat bored with it.
About three weeks ago, I had a WCG match against a Terran that had 4000 points last season, which I think is supposed to be pretty good. I hadn't played at all in a few weeks and I just decided to play Protoss instead of Zerg, the race I had been practicing. I ended up winning the first game with a 15 Nexus build that I had somewhat studied but had never practiced or anything, I pretty much made up most of it on the spot. I lost the next two games, and consequently the match, but I was actually having fun playing. It seemed like something just clicked. It appears that the game has grown on me and playing it is less hard work and more.. fun.
So yet again I have dedicated my life to Aiur. Like always, my Brood War practice has carried me pretty far, and I'd like to think I have some natural talent at the game which has really helped too. Despite the inactivity I've jumped up the ladder very fast, to the point where I'm playing very high Master's players, which I don't think is too bad, considering I still have a lot of builds to learn. The match making system has matched me up with two GM players as well, and I ended up beating one of them. It's not really a big deal to me just because I've always felt I have a lot of potential with this game, and my mindset is to never be satisfied with the results I've gotten and to always push myself further.
I've improved in so many ways mentally. One of my huge weaknesses is that I've always been such an impatient player, despite the fact that I loved macro games, I would always be the one to make the bad attack and just lose my army unnecessarily. However I've really noticed in my play lately that I've gained much patience and this leads to wiser decisions in general.
Another thing that I'm very happy with is that I think I've finally learned how to lose and keep a clear mind about it. I couldn't name the amount of things I've broken in the past (headphones (times many), mouse, there's some holes in my closet door) when I've lost games and just got caught up in the heat of the moment. But I believe I've finally gotten to the point where I can lose, understand that I made some mistakes which can be corrected and recognize that one game isn't the end of the world. I do get upset when my computer blue screens or crashes (which happens wayyyy too often) but I think that's fair. Being able to lose with class and knowing that losing is the only way to truly improve is a very nice talent and one that can really be used to help one's skill.
As far as the individual matchups:
PvP: My micro was my weakest point in Brood War, and I find that I'm lacking quite a bit in these 4 Gate vs. 4 Gate battles. Definitely need to work on that, but generally if the game goes into the mid game or late game I find myself very comfortable. I've had some success with a 1 Gate Robo build against 4 Gate, but I still need to figure out why it works sometimes and why it doesn't, and see just how fast I can get the first Immortal out while still not cutting units.
PvZ: I've been struggling in this matchup honestly. It's not the Roachling all-ins that get me (Thanks to MC's builds at MLG, which I'd recommend checking out!) but usually it's the late game where I lose, so I need to work on timings and knowing when the Zerg is weak. Harassment can probably be better as far as picking off Creep Tumors and just trying to annoy the Zerg as much as possible.
PvT: My favorite and best matchup at the moment. I have a lot of builds that I feel safe using dependent on the situation. My control in battles can be a bit better as far as using logical force field placement, but I've had a lot of improvement in PvT as of late. When Terrans start to realize that upgrades have a huge effect on this matchup, then I'll be in big trouble.. but for now I'm safe. :)
Hoping to keep gaming a lot and getting involved in some tournaments!