I don’t like change.
Never have.
Never will.
I am a creature of habit and I get used to having things be a certain way. Life unfortunately rarely works that way.
I saw the final Avengers movie on opening night and it got me thinking about change. Not the movie itself (though it was amazing), but what the movie represents.
When the first Iron Man came out on May 2, 2008, I was 14 years old in Denver, Colorado. I was in eighth grade, the school year was almost over, and after the summer I would be headed to high school.
11 years and 21 movies later, I watched Avengers: Endgame sitting in a movie theater in Columbus, Ohio watching with my wife.
In that time, I went to high school, college, met the love of my life in the library, had internships in Chicago, Portland, New Hampshire, got a job in private equity, lived on my own in DC, got married, moved with my wife to Bethesda, and finally moved to Columbus to take a job in venture capital.
For someone who doesn’t like change, I sure have done a lot of it!
Maybe it is just a movie and maybe I shouldn’t be so introspective, but in some ways it is hard for me to look at Avengers and see anything other than a monumental shift in my life from adolescence to adulthood.
By the end of 2019, Avengers, Game of Thrones, and Star Wars will all have come to an end. Three stories that have brought me countless hours of entertainment, joy, inspiration, and in the case of Game of Thrones, intermittent spurts of horror (but in the best possible way).
Now I am sure that these worlds will live on in the form of infinite sequels, prequels, add-ons, tie-ins, and everything in between. But it won’t be the same. Because I won’t be the same.
And that is ok.
As much as I don’t like change, I have learned to embrace it.
Life is a story, and if you want your life to be a tale of adventure, you are going to have to put up with a little bit of change here and there. The idea of change will always put a little tiny pit in my stomach, but I can honestly say that I haven’t regretted any of the changes I have made. There have been missteps and pitfalls along the way, but each fork in the road has led me to where I am today, and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.
They say, you overestimate what you can accomplish in a year, but underestimate what you can accomplish in 5.
If my life is any example, that is definitely true. A lot can change over the years.
Especially over the past 11 years and 21 movies.
I know this post didn’t exactly include earth shattering insights about the tech and venture capital world. That’s the beauty of writing a personal blog. Sometimes you can make it just that. Personal. And on a rainy day after my childhood came to an end, I am hoping you can indulge me.
What was your life like 11 years ago? I am sure a lot has changed for you too!