I don’t know how many, if any, people stumble across this site. I have no delusions of grandeur; I’m not someone who has important, insightful things to say. So, why does this exist?
That’s a great question.
I suppose there is the voyeuristic portion of it; there’s a vulnerability to leaving yourself out in the open like this. The thought that perhaps someone out there feels the same way you do, and will someday discover what you’ve written. In some ways, it’s like a time capsule; people can see how you were doing at various times.
But why? That’s such a good question.
On one hand, I need to force myself to write. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I’ve had a few paid gigs but never kept up with it. I wrote for a few websites. I was an editor for my university paper; I quit the paper because I was sick of the managing editor changing my titles. His titles were … poor.
Being a quitter would be a good subject for another post.
But why? Why would this be necessary?
It isn’t. There’s no real purpose to it besides forcing myself to write and having a public place to dump it. I should really attempt at some sort of meaning; some sort of purpose. I should attempt that this would be a worthwhile endeavor.
But what does the world need? We have great Bible teachers, there are folks who homestead and have better things to say, I have yet to prove myself at gardening, I’m not a good programmer, my game development history is not worth writing about, I’m not working on any games now.
I suppose the title says something; Farming After 40. I could really work on that, but what does that serve? How does it look? What does it need? What would need to be said?
It’s like social media; you can’t win if you don’t offer something. You need to offer something that there’s a market for.
I certainly believe that there’s a market for people starting over after 40, I just need to figure out how best to approach that market. How do you reach them? Nobody reads blogs much anymore; they’re on Facebook, X, and who knows what else. How do you reach people my age and tell them how to start over? How do you tell them that, “Yes, this is frightening as heck but ultimately necessary?”
I suppose that would be the approach. Redefine the midlife crisis. I guess if you’re reading this, you’re my ridealong.
Tomorrow, I’ll set the stage and lay out the map.