Finally hit my goal for the past year.
I finally broke 1000 Elo today. I've been actually taking chess seriously since July of 2024 and I finally hit what has been my goal from the start. It took a decent amount of studying, about 800 games of rapid, and a total change to my mindset but I made it.
For those curious:
49% - 13% - 38% W/D/L
Most played opening (White): Italian Game
Most played opening (Black): Indian Game
The best advice I can give to someone who is feels stuck lower down is that theory is not as important as you think it's gonna be. Learn the basic theory around just one opening, and maybe atypical responses to popular openings (The quicker you take the game away from your opponent's theory, the better). For the most part, just focus on tactics and strategy. In probably half of my games I come out of the opening very poorly but am able to recover by spotting tactics in the middle game.
I don't plan on stopping here, and I think my next target is gonna be 1200. Wish me luck!