I Didn’t Say You Shouldn’t Write About Yourself As You Get Older
I said I shouldn’t. For now.
Last week I wrote about feeling like I was too old to write about my life. It was kind of a toss-off post, a last minute effort to come up with something to say as my deadline neared. I didn’t expect much to come of it, but it seemed to touch a nerve, making it all the way to Medium’s Human Parts magazine as well as the regular blog.
Several people messaged me or left comments saying they were sorry to hear I wouldn’t be writing about myself anymore and hoped I would change my mind (which was very nice — thank you.) But even more people said they were dispirited by my words because, in middle age or even older, they’d found they finally had something to say.
To those points, let me say the following.
First: Don’t worry, it’s highly unlikely that I’ll stop writing about myself, if only because I’ve also declared I’m not writing opinion articles or cultural analysis and, as it stands, I’m obliged to produce a certain number of words in this space once a week.
Second: Those of you who feel compelled to write about your lives now that you’re retired or the kids are out of the house or you finally feel like you have something to say: please do! You’re the ones who should be writing about your…
