i turned 24 this week. as everyone does, or should, i reflected on the age i’ve become.
it’s my zodiac year this year. as a year of the horse, this is the second time around i’ve observed the cycle (consciously. obviously, i was a baby the year i was born.) which was a trip. the next time the year of the horse comes around, i’ll be 36. on average, american men have their first child at 31. if i was average i would have a 5 year old child next year of the horse. injuries are probably going to be more common. yet, i won’t even have a home, probably. but who knows? that’s 12 years from now.
24 is still an unclear age for most people. as i see my former classmates and friends hit that age or pass that age, it seems like more often than not, they haven’t figured it out yet. (if you have, kudos to you, but keep quiet.) this age is an opportunity to explore, struggle, fail, and grow. why else would i be doing this?
everyone’s in such a rush. you need to make *this* many figures by 20-something, you need to have done *that* many things, “this is the last year i’m going to try to find success in my dream”, etc., etc. at 18, (shit, at 21, at 22…), everyone feels like their career needs to be set, they need to be successful immediately. it’d be nice, but hey, half of these artists you know? they didn’t have their big one till they were in their late 20s. i was once told that in an industry like this? it takes time. decades for some. hopefully not, but it takes persistence, dedication, and a whole lot of elbow grease. it’s a leap of faith for a reason.
especially in a time where we’re on the precipice of a bubble burst, art is going to be something that people turn to. everyone’s broke. art is something that thrives in bountiful times (see: the renaissance), but it’s also something that comes out of suffering. while that sounds exploitative, and to an extent it probably is, art saves lives. many artists derive their work from their darkest moments. when they turn to creating, they channel their lows into highs. so while people grow and figure themselves out in a time of economic…disadvantages, music, or art as a whole, is going to thrive.
the world is fucking insane right now. despite that, we continue to go on. today is the youngest i’ll ever be, and right now is the youngest you’ll ever be. this is a great age to be figuring this kind of stuff out, as much as it seems like it’s horrible in the moment. trudge on, and make some fucking art.
