#411. taking a risk, routine, function & having a baby at fifteen

Age: 49

Relationship Status: Married

Occupation: IT Solutions Team Lead (Salesforce Administrator) 

Income: $85k

Astrological Sign: Sagittarius

What is something you look forward to every day?

Threads lore, Punch videos, and the dogs being good again this week.

Describe how your year thus far is going, using only three words:

Busy, consulted, recognized.

What is the most valuable thing you have earned?

My Bachelor's degree - both monetarily and for my increased sense of self-worth.

What is the most precious thing you have lost?

My mobility.

Fill in the blank: if loving _____ is wrong, I don’t want to be right.

Cheese.

Is there a moment in your life where preparation has met opportunity? Did you take it?

Getting my previous role and recent promotion.

In a room full of people, who are you looking for?

My wife, so I can convince her to go home.

What is the most impactful, published piece of writing you have read?

(this could be a book, a poem, an article, a study, etc.)

The Superpower Myth by Nancy Soderberg.

When I am self-loathing, I tend to…

Spiral into self-sabotage.

When I am self-loving, I tend to…

Do things that make me happy - like painting.

If you had endless amounts of talent and skill, what would you want to be famous or known for?

Helping people.

How does the best relationship in your life make you feel?

Safe, loved, happy, home.

When do you feel most inspired?

When I am lying in bed right after I wake up and start thinking about all the things I can do with my day.

What is something that your inner child needs to hear from you?

At my age, I'd have to get the box with my trauma in it out of the Mariana Trench, and I just can't.

What is something that your future self needs to hear from you?

You did better at everything than you ever let yourself believe. 

Do you ever wonder what your life would be like if you had made a different decision, and do you wish you had?

I do. I had a baby at 15. I think all the time about how different my life would have been. But, if you couldn't guarantee me the same exact baby, having waited another decade, I would not choose to do it differently. 

If money were no object, what is one thing you would have an unlimited supply of? 

There’s not really anything tangible I need an unlimited supply of. 

What is the most predictable thing about you?

I am neurodivergent. My life is very grounded in routine and sameness. I need it to function. 

What is the most unexpected thing that has ever happened to you? 

I had a baby at 15, most of my life since then has been one big surprise after another. 

Describe a time that you were in awe of your own courage or bravery: 

At 39 years old, I packed 100lbs worth of boxes and shipped them and myself to the other side of the country, leaving the town I grew up in and everything familiar to begin a relationship with the love of my life (again), 6 years after she cheated on me, and we broke up. 

BONUS: Tell me something good.

The world is full of truly good people, in spite of the fact that the bad are showcased so loudly. There are more people who help and save children, animals, and other people than there are people who hurt them.