I feel silly trying to tell you anything about starting from scratch. As I'm typing this, you're building yourself cell by cell. Starting a blog is unimpressive compared to growing a hand or a pair of eyes. But, that's sort of the purpose of this exercise. I want to try and lecture you about all of the stuff I've done, and all of my perspectives, without paying much attention to what you might be going through our what your opinions on things might be. There's a reason for this: I'm going to be your dad, and this is what dads do.
It's what dads have always done, as a matter of fact. Since the beginning of cellular life, organisms have been forced to listen about what their dads' childhoods were like, on what constitutes a suitable sport to play, on what real music is, on why the utility bills are so damned high...Probably, the first fish to crawl out of the ocean did so at the insistence of its dad that it go outside instead of waste the day in front of the tv.
That last paragraph also introduces you to another facet of dads: bad jokes. More on this later, but for now I'm just saying that you might as well strap in. It's going to be a long ride.
So, beginnings. Honestly, I've begun a lot of things in my life. I've finished very few of them. I'm a big believer in trying stuff, in throwing things against the wall in hopes that they stick. It seems like there's a split in perspectives on this, with some people saying that you should only begin what you know you can finish and others saying you should try it all, no matter what. I'm squarely in the latter camp, and it's led to a lot of fun experiences. The down side is that sometimes you begin something special, and other people care about it, and they rely on you to finish it, and it hurts them a great deal when you don't. Sometimes you don't finish it because you can't, but sometimes you don't finish it because you don't want to.
I don't want you to be afraid of trying new things, and I don't want you to be afraid of doing things for yourself, so I still recommend beginning as many things as you possibly can, and worrying about finishing them later. This is a wide, beautiful, exciting world, and there's far more wonderful stuff out there to experience than you'll ever be able to do in one lifetime, so get out there and grab at as much as you can. Don't be discouraged when some things don't pan out. There's still more greatness out there.
But let's go back for a minute, to what happens when other people have expectations. Some things are so special that once you begin them, you really do have to follow through. Mostly, in my experience, this happens when people are involved. Sometimes not. Sometimes an idea or belief is so important that you can't walk away. But right now, let's stick with people. Namely, let's stick with one person: you. Like I said, I've begun a lot of things, and I've finished few of them. It sounds weird for me to say that your mom and I began you, but in the absence of a better word, I guess that's what we did. We got you started (more on that way later) and, even though I don't think we'll be alive for all of your life (more on that later, too), we'll always be with you, we'll never give up on you, we'll never leave.
So maybe what I'm trying to say about the process of beginning things is this: there are some things you just try, and some things you begin. I hope I'm beginning these entries for you, as opposed to just trying to write some stuff for you. I know, however, that I'm beginning my life with you.
