Kids today

[prog]

I just learned that the creator of xkcd, perhaps the most consistently funny web-based comic strip I read, is a full 10 years younger than me. Since the start of this decade I've met plenty of friends and colleagues who are several years my junior, but seeing someone whose work I admire finally break that double-digit barrier gives me pause.

Part of this is because he is doing exactly what I wanted to do when I was his age: supporting himself full-time with his cartoons. And how the world has changed between now and then! There were webcomics in 1997, but there was no common infrastructure to support them - you want an RSS feed? Buddy, basic XML hadn't even been released yet - and certainly no clear way to actually make money from them.

You know what I was dreaming of doing, that year? Building a portfolio to send to newspaper comics syndicates! Wow, does that ever seem archaic now.

Granted, I am supporting myself being a total slacker right now, and there's something to be said for that. But the thing I languidly do while slacking - grind code for companies who do things I don't really care about - is not what I love to do. Meanwhile, this kid's totally nailed the pay-for-doing-what-you-love thing, right out of college, and gets Internet Fame on top of. (And my utmost respect!)

I gotta get me summa that.

Comments

[lyricon.livejournal.com]

I think I understand some of how you're feeling... not the age thing in particular (yet), but at least a certain sense of envy in watching someone else be successful and happy doing exactly what they love.

While I was just sort of bumming around by the Navy, my best friend from grade school, Hope, graduated from college with an art degree and started writing graphic novels. Her own ideas, stories, and artwork. She had two published independently, and both were quite successful. On the side she did a comic for her local independent weekly newspaper, and contributed to anthologies and collections. After her second graphic novel, she was signed by a fantastic and "mainstream" publishing company, for whom she's now contracted to write two more graphic novels that will probably see a lot of shelf space in major bookstores as well as our favorite independent comic/game stores.

So while I most definitely envy her, I also think that knowing she's been able to do this has really motivated me to try and pursue what I want to do. The unfortunate part is that while I pursue it, at this point I'm still stuck doing a job that I may or may not feel much personal attachment to in order to pay the bills. But at least the cognitive dissonance is lessened as I actively do something that I think will one day allow me to do what I love for a living.

So... what about you? Do you still have a hankering to write comics, or have your ideas about what you want to be when you grow up changed in the last decade? If you could do anything, and get paid for it, what would you do?

[jtroutman.livejournal.com]

I have certainly felt a bit of envy myself, as I find people much younger than I who have "gone places" in life that I always wanted to go.

While I may not be the best example, I think it comes down to seizing control of your life and not just letting yourself bump and grind along the current path because it seems comfortable. Life can pass by quickly in terms of months and years while you coast along in a comfort zone of your own creation, without really being satisfied.

There is also the whole subject of "work != life" which has become very important to me over the last few years. I'd much rather have a lot more free time to pursue the things that interest me than to be working a lot. There are certain types of work I do enjoy so much that they are fun, and not really considered work. I have done a poor job of focusing on the work that brings me joy, and not just the work that brings me income.

And income is always one of the fundemental constraints. You need some to do things, and having a lot of it is helpful to enjoying life, but it is real easy to get so caught up in creating incoming and then being a good consumer that you loose the things that are really important (friends, family, and doing the things that feed your soul). There are times I really just want to go move to a developing nation and work on social activism projects (ala Peace Corp) and life a simple life with stronger relationships and more time to relax.

But then I want my Internet and my sofa and my DVD player.