Freestyle #458 - What More Can You Ask For?

Jekyll Island Georgia - FD Thornton 2011

When I first started this blog 5 years ago my way of doing it back then was to simply start typing and see what popped out. If you are a long time reading (Thank-you Bob, your checks in the mail) you can pretty much see how bad my grammar was (is) in those days.  But I like to think that I have matured along with my writing. Anyway, to honor those days I decided to forgo my usual worked out piece and go old school. So here we go.

Towards the end of 2011 I was knee-deep working on my Bachelor's degree at the University of Phoenix. I had just finished up my Associate's degree and was ending a run at my last hourly waged job at a manufacturing plant in Dublin, Georgia. The job ended not by my choice but instead because the plant was shutting down to move overseas to make the shareholders an extra nickel per item. This happening to me was nothing new, years before I lost another job due to moving the job overseas. When I first moved my family to this area in 1994 it was to get my kids away from the crazy going on in Savannah, Georgia. 

At that time I had worked as a route driver for a company and part of my route was South Central Georgia. I also had my mothers family that was in the area, so I felt confident moving my family to the area. What was also occurring at the same time was the moving of the small to medium factory jobs that dotted the area overseas. Still I was confident I could secure work and make a better, safer life for my family. The move wasn't without it's challenges the distance we moved from our family and friends wasn't easy. The isolation we felt and still feel gets a bit too much at times. But our kids pretty much set roots down that my wife and I didn't so looking back I'm happy we moved. 

Like I said the move was to make a new start and build a legacy of our own. During those early years I wondered on more than one occasion if I hadn't done something really stupid. But as the kids matured into young adulthood I kinda like being the only bleeding-heart liberal in my county. Also since then I completed my undergraduate studies, I've also finished up graduate studies earning my MBA. From that point I've foregone my area of study to concentrate on writing. At the moment my writing career isn't turning much of a profit. But the fact that I can be my own boss and do something that I really enjoy makes being a starving artist worthwhile.

And maybe that's the whole point of this little exercise to tell you dreams are not easy things. That dreaming can take you to places you never thought you would go. At the beginning of this journey I thought of becoming a network and telecommunications entrepreneur operating across the Southeast working with small to medium sized businesses. As my education continued I started working in Systems and Business Analysis. But after graduate school I heart wasn't really into the business of corporate profit making. I found myself drawn to a long forgotten passion of writing. Focused on helping others through my experiences as a middle-aged wanderer trying to find my niche in the world. All the while battling the demons of low self-esteem and anxiety. 

Like I told you this was going to be an experiment on just letting it flow. I hope you've stuck with me to the end here and not dropped out five sentences in. If you have then maybe you can understand the passion I have for life. Because at the moment I can live this world not regretting too much. I have a wonderful family, a wife who has walked through fire with me, a new son-in-law, and one hell of a granddaughter. What more can one ask for? Change can be a good thing, it's fear that prevents you from doing so.