Why make a blog?

5 years, 11 months, and 21 days. That’s how long I have until I, Shree Samavedhi, turn the ripe age of 30.

What’s wrong with 30? It’s only an arbitrary age after all, right? You, the reader, might wonder, if humans had 4 fingers on each hand and counted in base 8, would I have set 30 as an age for…for what exactly? A reminder that I’m no longer “in my 20s”? A disheartening approach to life, that progress stops at the age that many choose to start families? That every time I watch the Olympics I must reason with the fact that most of those athletes have trained their wholes lives to become that good, and after this age I no longer possess the physical attributes or the time to attempt that path if I wished?

No. Obviously not. The time that I’ve listed isn’t meant to be a grim reminder of the passage of time, or really any reminder at all. It’s in fact more optimistic than all of that.

The reality is, I turned 24 recently, which is an age that middle-school me could never begin to imagine. And truthfully, 24 year-old me can barely remember what it felt like to be middle-school me. I can only interpret that my curiosity for the world and fervor to create came out of a unimaginable plethora of free-time at that age. Something that 24 year-old me envies quite a lot.

While the past and present versions of me are very, very different, what remained to be chiseled away is the unrelenting, insatiable desire to pursue any and all interests that happen to fascinate me. Usually, there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m pretty sure all children are told the standard “follow your dreams” in hopes that they’ll eventually find some avenue of life that satisfies those dreams. But what happens when someone has not one, not two, but around a dozen different dreams?

There’s a human phenomenon called decision paralysis. You’ve probably experienced that when going grocery shopping or choosing a show to watch. Or figuring out what household chore to slack off on– inevitably slacking off on all of them. Why? Because humans aren’t really good at choosing when there’s too many choices. Our ancestors never had to make as many choices as we do today.

What I’m getting at is, I want to do a lot of things. And unless I set an arbitrary deadline for myself, that’s rooted in our base 10 number system, for actionable items I want to achieve, it isn’t going to happen. No if, and, or buts about it. The number of times I choose to do nothing instead of something due to an overwhelming amount of options, is uncountable.

Six years is a lot of time. But it’s also no time at all if you don’t know how to use it well. For today, I’ll list out everything I am interested in pursing currently. From there, over the next week or so, I’ll flesh these out so I can actually decide what to do day by day. So, without further ado, here’s what I envision myself doing for every single one of my current interests:

1. Music
   • Composing: Release, on average, one song every 1-2 months. Through this process, train the three fundamentals: song, lyrical, and instrumental structure. After the first year, plan for an album release. After the album release, start by playing live at small gigs. This is, somehow, the most achievable item on this list.
   • Playing: Play drums, guitar, and bass guitar once a week. Either keep lessons for these, or learn to play songs.
2. Video Games
   • Creating: Make steady progress on the Godot/Golang project, and finish a playable version of it. Doesn’t have to be completely done, but enough so that it’s playable, and enjoyable. I am at a point where I have essentially been handed every skill required to make a game- the coding, the music, the art, the writing. With a skill-set like that, I should be able to do this. (I kind of need to tell myself that, this is the most intimidating item on this list)
   • Playing: You can’t make video games without playing them. Find small indie titles you enjoy and play thoroughly, once every two months at the least. You’d think I wouldn’t have to ‘schedule this in’, but seriously adult life sucks and tiktok is a terribly addictive time-sink.
3. Climbing
   • Indoors: Boulder at least once a week, preferably twice. Lead climb at least once a month to become more comfortable. The goal is to be jacked and as in-shape as I can be. If I want to feel ‘young’, I need to train the part.
   • Outdoors: Plan outdoor boulder or lead trips once every 6 months. This is for morale- staying indoors with a lot of these hobbies is not great for the spirit.
   • Hiking: Walking isn’t climbing, but I consider the same category of fun fitness. Once a month minimum. Do it with friends, enjoy the leg day.
4. Film
   • This will come from the music videos I make for the compositions. Once a year basis. The goal is to be as creative as possible. Doesn’t have to look the best, just something I can be proud of.
   • Hmm… but now that I think about it, video essays on a Youtube channel might be fun? Would combine the writing and filming interests? This is lower priority though, but I’ll keep it in mind.
5. Digital Art
   • Animation: This will come from the video game creation and the music video for the music compositions. Not a priority, but will need to be done when I get there. I have the tools, a bit of practice. What I need is a lot more practice, and a whole lot of patience with this.
6. Writing
   • Blogs: Continue posting blogs on this webpage at least once a week. Doesn’t even have to be updates. Fun posts are encouraged.
   • Book: (sigh) Yes, I also want to write a book. Let’s make it a short book. Short story, doesn’t have to be published, but has to be written and completed.
7. Career
   • I’ve rewritten this section a dozen times now. It’s clear to me that I’m not so clear on how and where I want my career to go (the one that pays me money for my time). That’s fine for now. The main goal is to have a job where I am learning and growing during that 9-5. That’s the absolute minimum. But I also need to remember that I have this list of other goals I want to work on, and I absolutely must make time for them. A lot of people my age get trapped in a cycle of doing one thing for their entire lives, and that simply cannot be me. Why? Because I have 6 other things on this list that need to be done, and done in only…

5 years, 11 months, and 21 days. Minus one day after this goes live. Think I’m crazy for even attempting all of these interests at once? For thinking that it’s possible? You’re right, and I am. My expectations are flexible though, and as time passes, I’ll get to know just how crazy this plan really is. The end-goal is, at 30, I will be proud of what I accomplished in my 20’s. And then I’ll proceed to come up with new ones, probably.

Get ready dreamers, my time

starts

now.