Fifth--Element

...And this time is no exception.

Happy New Year to all! I hope that it has been going well for you so far, and that you've enjoyed your holidays. For those of you now back to school and work, I feel for you. I've been back for a week now.

I'm never entirely sure why I write these journals. I mean, I don't think anyone really ever reads them. Perhaps that's why I write them as rarely as I do.

Let's see... last year I acquired 50 new watchers, putting me over 300! So I've reached that milestone... whatever that means for me.

For those of you wondering, The Hobbit movie I went to see wasn't worth it. I mean, I'm glad I got the closure of finishing off the trilogy, but... it really shouldn't have been one. One, maybe two movies tops, not three.

If you want a good movie to see, I recommend Interstellar. I saw that movie on a whim with my friend who was really pestering me to see it, and I really enjoyed it. A++, would watch it again. Phenomenal acting, directing, music score (Hans Zimmer always outdoes himself) overall great movie.

Christmas break this year was nice, but pretty short, just under two weeks. I miss the five week breaks of yesteryear. I'm glad, as is custom by now, to have received a stellar present from my good friend Icaron
She is so huggable! Saga's an amazing friend, and this plushie is an amazing gift. Thank you so much!

Which brings me to my next topic! I saw Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks a couple months back.... and then again... and then a third time, all in about a week! And I have to say, I love Sunset Shimmer! The character development she went through in the movie was great. In the "Who was the main character?" debate about RR, I definitely side with Sunset being the main character, not Twilight. Sunset has begun her personal growth trip, to the place where she should have, and deserves to be, as a princess (hopefully). So yes, while she (nor any pony) will ever dethrone Best Pony, aka Rainbow Dash, from her top spot, Sunset Shimmer has come very close to my heart, and I cannot wait for EQG 3 to come out! More Sunset Shimmer is what I need in my world. Also I highly recommend Rainbow Rocks to anyone and everyone! It's now on Netflix, so easy to access for many of us.

Well, aside from that, there's not really much else I want to say here. 2015 so far has been... sub par, for a variety of reasons. Let's just say I hope it gets better soon. Got invited to a wedding later this year though, which is nice.

I'll try to write more of these if there's any sort of demand for them. I hope all of you are enjoying your new year, not freezing too much in the cold weather, and are surviving through the longest pony hiatus yet!

Haven't posted anything since January 1st, which is practically like 2013 anyway. On that day you're still writing every date as the year prior before you realize "Oh wait, it's not that year anymore."
^{At least I do that.}

Anyway, I'll make this brief. I've got finals coming up, and being in law school means these are the toughest finals I've ever taken. And they count for your entire grade. So I'm taking a few weeks off of DeviantART to study.

Not sure how many people read this journal, but I hope everyone is doing well and getting ready for the holidays. I'll try to make another journal post once my finals are over.

As a parting question, who here is going to go see The Hobbit when it comes out later this month? I sure as hell am.

As many are doing on this day, I would like to wish to everyone a very happy new year. I hope that everyone was able to enjoy their first day of the year, and I hope this enjoyment is mirrored throughout the rest of 2014.

But this journal won't be about the future as much as it'll be about the past. What has this year brought for me?

In the world of ponies:
My escapades on dA have been numerous, and filled with ups and downs. I remember I seriously contemplated leaving dA for good at one point, given some not-so-fun circumstances. Overall though, I'm quite pleased with the groups I'm involved with, and am very pleased that my high quality group (Best-of-MLP-FiM) has become the most watched/largest high quality pony art group on dA! One of my proudest achievements on dA is that group.

I've also had the great pleasure of attending my first convention ever, Bronycon, down in Baltimore, MD. I got to meet some of my greatest online friends, including , and , among many others. All of you are quite amazing people, and it was my great pleasure to meet you.

I also had the wonderful experience of finally getting to meet one of my best friends, , in person some time after the convention. We spent nearly a week hanging out together, and it was quite a lot of fun. I very much loved the time I spent with him, and I hope to do so again in the near future.

In games:
Last year, in the beginning of February, I started to take Magic seriously and play it more competitively. I consider this to be the official starting point for my magic career. Since then I've spent FAR too much money on the game, though I've been able to build a lot of unexpected and awesome friendships with people. Magic has helped me forge friendships and relationships with people I never expected to even talk with, let alone play a card game with. I continue to actively participate in this game, and enjoy it immensely, and don't see myself stopping any time soon!

In school:
My track to complete college is full speed ahead; hopefully, I'll be able to don my cap and gown come this spring. This year has been really busy for me... really really busy. I hope that this upcoming year will be busy as well, but a good sort of busy.

In miscellaneous:
I performed in my first operas. It was something I'll never forget (performing while so sick I could barely stand!) and a truly awesome experience. I love singing for a reason.

I turned another decade older. So old, but still so, so young at the same time. I've got a lot to do with my life, and a lot of years to do it, but not that many! Gotta keep up the pace.

I've grown to be stronger. Not physically, but mentally and morally. This year has been an important year of developing my morals and putting them to the test, and reforging them as they're shattered and made anew. A lot of important personal and other revelations came to me this year.

So all in all, it's been a pretty good year. Busy, but good busy. Definitely some setbacks, significant ones as well. Though something tells me all of these only help me grow stronger and wiser in the end.

So, to all a happy new year, and I hope that yours is as successful as mine is going to be.

~Fifth Element

About a week ago I posted a journal talking about how I was taking a week's break from dA, because of real life commitments. I've come back today to do some group tidying up, and to let all of you know that I will be gone once again, until the 12th of December (Mark your calendars! Haha.)

Given that I have just a super-massive amount of work to do (45 pages of writing in just over two weeks!) I just can't afford many, if any, distractions. With that in mind, yes, I'll be gone for a while. But before I am, a few updates about my life for those of you that care!

My laptop has been going on the fritz lately, though for some strange reason it's started working again. Nonetheless, I'm sending it in for repairs, and to prevent the inconvenience of loss of portable computing, I'm hoping to get my hooves on the brand new Google Nexus 10 2, which is strongly suggested to be coming out on Black Friday!

Whether I'll participate in the mad rush at my local Wal-Mart or whether I'll wait for Cyber Monday has yet to be determined.

Secondly, I saw the Season 4 premiere today. Absolutely amazing, and I love the long-term implications that it has for the show (and this season) as a whole. I won't say what, but rest assured, it's really quite something. The episodes as a whole were rather very touching, especially with the potion (those of you who've seen it know what I'm talking about!)

Needed some songs though! Can't wait for 'em in the upcoming episodes.

And that's all for now folks! I'll see you sometime next month!

As always, feel free to contact me through Skype, my username is on my profile.

~Fifth

I'm taking a much needed hiatus from all things deviantART related. Yes, this means I won't be managing my groups. I hope my admins will be able to pick up the slack.

I hope to return around the beginning of the newest season. Until then, if you need to contact me, please add me on Skype (my screen name can now be found on my profile page).

Take care.

~Fifth