Middle Age Acceptance

​This is my first blog that will be dual posted on both LinkedIn and my personal website www.expertofsome.com. As of May 3rd, 2021, I am receiving my Masters of Studies degree from the Pac-12 school Arizona State University in Cultural, Film and New Media Studies. On a basic level, the degree exists to explain the technology of the 21st Century and analyzes the sociological, psychological, and cultural implications of the tech world and other forms of mass media entertainment. I have studied the positive and negative implications from a cultural perspective and learned to understand from a marketing perspective how our 21st Century world operates.

What I did not expect from completing this degree (With a little help from the COVID-19 pandemic) was to have a middle-aged revelation about myself. As my years continue to pile on and wisdom continues to be accumulated, I have started becoming comfortable with who I am. Call it my mid-life crisis light. I have always evaluated myself in the most positive way imaginable. I am a family man. I am a man with a few professional and many advanced skills in divergent career fields. I am a whore for experiencing culture. I am open-minded and willing to try anything if properly convinced. I am also very intellectually curious and am constantly researching and reading about topics that interest me. I understand my flaws and am very aware of my propensity for foul language, my need to be alone most of the time, and my strict moral code which can irritate my close friends and family.
 
So what is the revelation that you had Crispin?
 
I came around to the conclusion that the person I have become is no longer interested in working in mega-corporate environments. I am going to be the person that I am and if this means that my goal of being a Vice President will never be reached, I can accept this. My personality just does not fit inside of a politically correct, often dehumanizing employment culture. I set a goal for myself to try to become a person that I have never been. I am done with putting on the mask. I will continue to be a solid, hard working employee and if I get rewarded for this, than that will be my reward. My life has still been fulfilling in so many ways. So why ruin it trying to leave a legacy at a faceless corporation?
 
Are you more comfortable at a small business than a mega-corporation?
 
Yes. Even if I do not accumulate the wealth these larger companies can provide. My personality is more simpatico inside smaller and more intimate environments. But I will never be the mega-corporate worker that raves about their company on LinkedIn and reads every article that is published about my place of employment. Family and friends are just more important and will always be the priority over career success.
 
What about your writing skills?
 
Been writing (Sometimes professionally) over the last 25 years and it has never made me more than a few hundred bucks every couple of years. What I write also does not fit comfortably into mainstream popular opinion which could gain me thousands of followers. Even with the book I am currently in the process of completing, I do not expect more than a hundred people will ever actually read it over the rest of my life. But I am comfortable knowing this. Because I do it mostly for my own personal entertainment. If my writing is too absurd, ridiculous, or just not interesting to you, who am I to say that you are wrong?
 
The basic summary of my middle-aged crisis or evolution is “Accept the person that you are and frame your life around trying to make a difference to the important people around you.” You are what you are. Accept the fact that your life may move into a different direction than expected. But understanding who you are, what you can contribute to society, and to accept what you already have are important to maintain a healthy mindset. There is nothing wrong with dreaming about bigger and better things. But understand that these goals may not be accomplished and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Life is random and complicated and there are so many more things that you can not control over the very few that you can. Don’t let this get you down. Chaos is life. Embrace the crazy journey!