1. If I wanted to play casually, I would play unrated. I genuinely want to get better at this game but mmr is whooping my ass

2. The last four ranked games I've had have included at least one plat/gold smurf in them. I'm just in a bronze/silver lobby but the difference in game sense between a bronze and a gold is major AND the skill diversity between bronzes and silvers is already wide enough (game sense and aim wise), so the fact that smurfs are so frequent in my matches makes me wonder if it's my elo or just the sheer volume of smurfing in this game

3. Its a regular sight to see people asking to surrender 5 rounds in if we're losing, regardless of the difference in rounds, and then when you don't surrender people quickly begin throwing and trash talking in chat. Even if reporting and muting are possible in game, it's just such a bummer to see people actively trying to lose a game especially when it's a derank one for me.

Is it just my mmr dropping by a lot and stomping me all the way out of bronze? Why is it that the game won't give you a chance to improve unless there's a huge difference in your skill all of a sudden? How am I supposed to get better and climb up the ranks when I'm getting opponents that keep me from building skill?

Be brutally honest with me if you have to. I just needed to air out my concerns because if this is already bad for me when I queue w friends I can't imagine how scary ranked will be if I solo queue. I am tired of trying to just reach SILVER and constantly being put 5 rr points away and then shoved back into Bronze 2. It's not even about me and my rank anymore I just want to get better at this game that I've devoted so much time to. Any tips about improving or overall feedback on my statements would really help me feel less insane about my personal elo hell :D