• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 04:46
CEST 10:46
KST 17:46
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
[ASL19] Finals Recap: Standing Tall9HomeStory Cup 27 - Info & Preview18Classic wins Code S Season 2 (2025)16Code S RO4 & Finals Preview: herO, Rogue, Classic, GuMiho0TL Team Map Contest #5: Presented by Monster Energy6
Community News
Flash Announces Hiatus From ASL62Weekly Cups (June 23-29): Reynor in world title form?13FEL Cracov 2025 (July 27) - $8000 live event21Esports World Cup 2025 - Final Player Roster16Weekly Cups (June 16-22): Clem strikes back1
StarCraft 2
General
Statistics for vetoed/disliked maps Program: SC2 / XSplit / OBS Scene Switcher The SCII GOAT: A statistical Evaluation Weekly Cups (June 23-29): Reynor in world title form? PiG Sty Festival #5: Playoffs Preview + Groups Recap
Tourneys
WardiTV Mondays FEL Cracov 2025 (July 27) - $8000 live event RSL: Revival, a new crowdfunded tournament series Korean Starcraft League Week 77 Master Swan Open (Global Bronze-Master 2)
Strategy
How did i lose this ZvP, whats the proper response Simple Questions Simple Answers
Custom Maps
[UMS] Zillion Zerglings
External Content
Mutation # 480 Moths to the Flame Mutation # 479 Worn Out Welcome Mutation # 478 Instant Karma Mutation # 477 Slow and Steady
Brood War
General
Flash Announces Hiatus From ASL Player “Jedi” cheat on CSL Practice Partners (Official) ASL20 Preliminary Maps SC uni coach streams logging into betting site
Tourneys
[BSL20] Grand Finals - Sunday 20:00 CET [Megathread] Daily Proleagues Small VOD Thread 2.0 [BSL20] GosuLeague RO16 - Tue & Wed 20:00+CET
Strategy
Simple Questions, Simple Answers I am doing this better than progamers do.
Other Games
General Games
Path of Exile Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Nintendo Switch Thread What do you want from future RTS games? Beyond All Reason
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Trading/Investing Thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine The Games Industry And ATVI
Fan Clubs
SKT1 Classic Fan Club! Maru Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
Anime Discussion Thread [Manga] One Piece [\m/] Heavy Metal Thread
Sports
2024 - 2025 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion NBA General Discussion TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 NHL Playoffs 2024
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
Blogs
Culture Clash in Video Games…
TrAiDoS
from making sc maps to makin…
Husyelt
Blog #2
tankgirl
StarCraft improvement
iopq
Trip to the Zoo
micronesia
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 562 users

Age

Blogs > AmericanUmlaut
Post a Reply
AmericanUmlaut
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
Germany2577 Posts
May 05 2022 08:08 GMT
#1
I keep seeing variations on the same thought in this forum. "I'm X years old, that's too old to start / to try / to have any chance to get good at Y."

Almost invariably, X is younger than I am now, often younger than I was when I started doing literally every single one of the things that are now my greatest passions in life. I always want to encourage anyone who has a thought like this to ignore it and just do the thing. There is time. If you are nearly 30, or 40, or 50, or even 60 or 70, you will have years to expore and enjoy whatever you choose to take up.

Every hobby and interest and skill that I am passionate about is something that I started "too late." I learned my first word of a foreign language as an adult, much too late to easily acquire a foreign language. I got hooked, though, ended up fluent in two foreign languages, and have spent almost my entire life since that point living abroad.

I've played RTS since Command & Conquer came out, but had no understanding of the strategy and didn't even know there was a StarCraft scene until I discoverd TL when the SC2 beta came out, when I was already 28. I debuted in Bronze when the game released, and made Master League for the first time two years later, studying Day9 Dailies and practicing while my newborn daughter napped during my paternity leave. After a long hiatus, I got back into the game a couple of years ago, and at nearly 40, with kids and a mortage and a job and all the stuff that we all have as grown ups, I'm making another run at Master League.

I have always wished I could make music, but I always figured it was just too late; I took piano lessons as a kid, but never really practiced and so I couldn't play anything. And I loved to sing, but I couldn't hit a note to save my life, and my voice sounded... well, like a dude with no idea how to sing. Then David Bowie died in January of 2016, and something about his life sparked something in me. I was 34 that year, awfully old to start learning, but I signed up for singing lessons that week, joined a local choir a few months later, and started performing in local musicals a year after that. I started taking piano lessons, too. Now my days are full of music - Bach and Mendelssohn and Mozart and Queen and the Beatles and old American folk songs. And two days ago - three months before my 40th birthday - I joined my first band!

I'm obviously very pleased with myself - I'm proud of pulling off this shit. It's not easy to be a grown up and be responsible to your children and your spouse and your employer and still find the time to invest in yourself and the things you care about. But I'm not sharing this from a need to toot my own horn; I really just want to put the idea out there that "I'm too old" is almost never a good reason not to do a thing. I started doing almost everything I care about when I was "too old," and my life is exponentially richer because I did.

****
The frumious Bandersnatch
Starlightsun
Profile Blog Joined June 2016
United States1405 Posts
May 06 2022 03:41 GMT
#2
Good message.
daskleinehotte
Profile Blog Joined February 2011
Germany76 Posts
May 06 2022 08:04 GMT
#3
Good read. To me it feels like it has more to do with perception than age. In general people are very depended on what other people (family and friends as well as total strangers) MIGHT think of them. In my opinion age works really well as an excuse to not do certain things.

I think that many people are afraid to try new things, because they might be bad at it at the start. The actual outcome of whatever endeavor they started is more often than not drastically different from their expectations. This is a painful gap. I know this feeling first hand as a guy in his 30's who still skates and in general has a hard time admitting that he sucks in areas that he genuinely cares about.

I don't want to jump on "all social media is bad"-bandwagon, but the constant stream of videos and images of the highest skill ceiling in whatever someone is interested, can be detrimental to the perception of themselves.
www.bunker-rush.de (German SC2 and eSports blog)
AmericanUmlaut
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
Germany2577 Posts
Last Edited: 2022-05-06 09:52:21
May 06 2022 09:51 GMT
#4
On May 06 2022 17:04 daskleinehotte wrote:
Good read. To me it feels like it has more to do with perception than age. In general people are very depended on what other people (family and friends as well as total strangers) MIGHT think of them. In my opinion age works really well as an excuse to not do certain things.

I think that many people are afraid to try new things, because they might be bad at it at the start. The actual outcome of whatever endeavor they started is more often than not drastically different from their expectations. This is a painful gap. I know this feeling first hand as a guy in his 30's who still skates and in general has a hard time admitting that he sucks in areas that he genuinely cares about.

I don't want to jump on "all social media is bad"-bandwagon, but the constant stream of videos and images of the highest skill ceiling in whatever someone is interested, can be detrimental to the perception of themselves.

I agree that when people feel like they are "too old" for something, it often has little to do with their actual age and more to do with their comparing themselves to others with more experience. I think people often feel like "wow, that guy's been doing X for ten years. I should have started doing it ten years ago, too." But of course, ten years ago that guy had no experience, and there were plenty of experienced people around to give him the same feeling.

Your point about social media is very well taken. The way people curate themselves for public consumption, taking huge amounts of work and presenting it as just a few minutes of content, can certainly make the viewer feel like their skill level will just never measure up. If the video showed the actual process, though - an amazing piano performance likely represents a decade or more of serious study and dozens if not hundreds of hours of piece-specific practice - you'd see that it's a totally achievable result for someone with the passion to put in the necessary work.

The thing about admitting you suck about things you care about is so important. That was one of the big steps that got me to finally embrace music. The thing is, I'm objectively terrible. With lots of work, I've improved, and I'm no longer embarassingly terrible, and I'm honestly quite proud of the music I make, but I'm just not that good in terms of hours of grind vs quality of result. And that's fine. The point of making music is making music. When I am sitting at my piano, singing and playing, I am really happy. And I'm sure you feel the same way on your skateboard. There's a really harmful idea in modern Western culture that hobbies are meant to be productive - we're supposed to monetize them or turn them into content to harvest attention. And that's frankly bullshit. I'm a pretty solid software engineer; that is the skill I monetize so that my family can have food and clothes and a nice house and all that. Every other skill, I pursue because doing so brings me joy; there really shouldn't be any other bar that we set for what we choose to do with the free hours of our lives.
The frumious Bandersnatch
_fool
Profile Joined February 2011
Netherlands676 Posts
May 06 2022 10:42 GMT
#5
Well put!

Maybe I should pick up singing
"News is to the mind what sugar is to the body"
AmericanUmlaut
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
Germany2577 Posts
May 06 2022 10:50 GMT
#6
On May 06 2022 19:42 _fool wrote:
Well put!

Maybe I should pick up singing

My opinion is that everyone should sing. It's an amazing form of expression that anyone can do, it's a great way to connect with others, and it's incredibly satisfying to make progress in because you, yourself, are the instrument you're playing.

I guarantee there's a choir somewhere near you that would love to have you as a member. Most church choirs are desperate for more voices (especially male voices if that's the sort you happen to have) and most of them don't have any auditioning or skill level requirements to join, so they're an awesome way to start.
The frumious Bandersnatch
JoinTheRain
Profile Blog Joined September 2018
Bulgaria408 Posts
May 07 2022 15:17 GMT
#7
Well, I got into training Muay Thai when I was 31, 32, now I'm 38 and I'm still trying a couple sessions a week. I was aware I'd never be a competitor, I just liked the sport but up until then there wasn't a dedicated gym in the third world shit hole that I live in and I've never wanted to try boxing or even kickbox. I've had a lot of fun developing the techniques (still poorly, I must add), drills and mostly in sparring.
My point is that I don't think the kind of activity matters that much, be it painting, music, some sport, chess, whatever, it's never late to start as long as one has a clear image of one's goals and capabilities. I'd commend every conscious effort and step towards improving in something. So I commend op for starting his singing career.
The subject-matter of the art of living is each person's own life.
lechatnoir
Profile Joined November 2016
386 Posts
May 08 2022 09:35 GMT
#8
I heartily approve this message.

It's also never too late to do any amount of exercise. Being fit is relative to who you are and what you want, not some objective measure. Moving around more will have a positive impact even if you, maybe unlikely on TL, are of retirement age. Sometimes especially then tbh.
AmericanUmlaut
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
Germany2577 Posts
May 09 2022 08:59 GMT
#9
On May 08 2022 18:35 lechatnoir wrote:
I heartily approve this message.

It's also never too late to do any amount of exercise. Being fit is relative to who you are and what you want, not some objective measure. Moving around more will have a positive impact even if you, maybe unlikely on TL, are of retirement age. Sometimes especially then tbh.

Very much agreed. It seems to me that a degree of physical fitness is important in any pursuit, since being physically fit is so important to cognitive fitness and general wellbeing, too. For me, since I haven't returned to a gym since Covid began, that means lots of walking; I am a birder, and I spend at least an hour every day wandering the countryside around the little German village I live in, just enjoying the beautiful local birds and looking out for the occasional rarity.
The frumious Bandersnatch
HerbMon
Profile Blog Joined June 2009
United States460 Posts
May 11 2022 19:21 GMT
#10
Thank you for this!
How we will win in the period ahead.
Mutaller
Profile Blog Joined July 2013
United States1051 Posts
May 11 2022 23:40 GMT
#11
Solid blog! I am currently just working my job while my friends are doing grad school. I worry that I have stagnated, but when I compare myself to who I was before I see I have come a long way.
"To practice isn't for you to get better now in the present. Practice will never betray you and will always come back for you in the future." -Jaedong
pebble444
Profile Blog Joined March 2011
Italy2497 Posts
May 12 2022 01:55 GMT
#12
I’ m too young to start;

But seriously I can relate to the music part; had a similar journey to you, started at 24, “way too late to learn music”
As a result I enjoy classical music immensely and can listen for hours, where as before I could listen to a 4 minute classical track at best; if you enjoy classical music I recommend classic fm
"Awaken my Child, and embrace the Glory that is your Birthright"
Copymizer
Profile Joined November 2010
Denmark2084 Posts
May 12 2022 12:19 GMT
#13
Great message overall. I try to tell people the same whenever they doubt themselves of pursuing a new activity, hobby or education but feel limited by their age. Age should never hold you back to start something new, we only have this one life and we should make the best of it and what we want to do or dream of doing or learning. Age is just a number and it's never too late to improve your life, well being or challenging yourself to overcome obstacles no matter the age.
~~Yo man ! MBCGame HERO Fighting !! Holy check !
Archeon
Profile Joined May 2011
3253 Posts
May 13 2022 00:15 GMT
#14
Thanks I think I needed that.
low gravity, yes-yes!
ffswowsucks
Profile Blog Joined August 2005
Greece2294 Posts
May 14 2022 10:20 GMT
#15
I really like this guy! kudos to you. Nice message. Im 38y old and still looking out for things like that.
Terran in particular is a notoriously strong race for a no brain skillhand bot style.
lestye
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
United States4159 Posts
May 17 2022 06:29 GMT
#16
Beautiful message.

I tried getting into guitar on a phone app a while back, because I think everyone SHOULD learn an instrument but its so hard to find time in the day. I will stay determined. I have a lot of work because I dont really have musical talent but that doesnt mean I cant grow.
"You guys are just edgelords. Embrace your inner weeb desu" -Zergneedsfood
AmericanUmlaut
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
Germany2577 Posts
May 17 2022 06:58 GMT
#17
On May 17 2022 15:29 lestye wrote:
Beautiful message.

I tried getting into guitar on a phone app a while back, because I think everyone SHOULD learn an instrument but its so hard to find time in the day. I will stay determined. I have a lot of work because I dont really have musical talent but that doesnt mean I cant grow.

Thank you.

I have found that signing up for lessons was very effective. The lessons themselves are very useful because you get a more experienced perspective on where you are and how you can improve. But much more than that, I find that knowing I have a lesson coming up gives me a lot of motivation to get in my daily practice. I hate the feeling of showing up to a lesson not having made significant progress compared to the previous week.

Finding the time in the day is really hard. I have the good fortune of being able to work full-time from home, so I take piano breaks where other people might go grab a coffee or chat with a co-worker. Plus I don't have to waste any time in a commute. Even with all that, I still find that I have to be really brutal with myself to squeeze an hour of real practice into a day.
The frumious Bandersnatch
Titusmaster6
Profile Blog Joined September 2007
United States5937 Posts
May 24 2022 02:32 GMT
#18
I love this so much. I still have so many things I want to achieve or explore in life; get better at skiing, learn home improvement, learn to work on cars, become a better gardner, get back into running. There just isn't enough time! But I don't care how old I am when I start, I'm going to get to all of it!
Shorts down shorts up, BOOM, just like that.
minibusformer
Profile Joined June 2022
2 Posts
Last Edited: 2022-06-20 15:29:49
June 17 2022 12:30 GMT
#19


I agree with you. In my opinion, education must prolong till death. If people will study only at the university - our world start regressing. I'm 30 now and went to the university 2 years ago. Some of my mated don't understand why I did that because I have a good work and my life is really good. But I want to develop myself. Of course, it's harder than when you are young, but this source https://writix.co.uk/essay-examples/student helps me a lot with my writing tasks, and I often read additional literature to stay on the wave.
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 1h 14m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
trigger 92
Crank 42
StarCraft: Brood War
Sea 10998
Hyuk 686
Leta 332
Killer 192
PianO 155
TY 139
Soma 94
Rush 45
NotJumperer 32
HiyA 27
[ Show more ]
Free 18
ivOry 2
zelot 0
Dota 2
XaKoH 742
XcaliburYe522
Fuzer 26
League of Legends
JimRising 636
Counter-Strike
Stewie2K2097
Heroes of the Storm
Khaldor307
Other Games
Happy328
crisheroes156
Pyrionflax104
Organizations
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 15 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Berry_CruncH325
• Adnapsc2 16
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Dota 2
• lizZardDota2301
League of Legends
• Lourlo1270
• Stunt531
Upcoming Events
RSL Revival
1h 14m
Clem vs Classic
SHIN vs Cure
FEL
3h 14m
WardiTV European League
3h 14m
BSL: ProLeague
9h 14m
Dewalt vs Bonyth
Replay Cast
1d 15h
Sparkling Tuna Cup
2 days
WardiTV European League
2 days
The PondCast
3 days
Replay Cast
3 days
RSL Revival
4 days
[ Show More ]
Replay Cast
4 days
RSL Revival
5 days
FEL
5 days
RSL Revival
6 days
FEL
6 days
FEL
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

BSL 2v2 Season 3
HSC XXVII
Heroes 10 EU

Ongoing

JPL Season 2
BSL Season 20
Acropolis #3
KCM Race Survival 2025 Season 2
CSL 17: 2025 SUMMER
Copa Latinoamericana 4
Championship of Russia 2025
RSL Revival: Season 1
Murky Cup #2
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
ESL Impact League Season 7
IEM Dallas 2025
PGL Astana 2025
Asian Champions League '25
BLAST Rivals Spring 2025
MESA Nomadic Masters
CCT Season 2 Global Finals
IEM Melbourne 2025

Upcoming

2025 ACS Season 2: Qualifier
CSLPRO Last Chance 2025
2025 ACS Season 2
CSLPRO Chat StarLAN 3
K-Championship
uThermal 2v2 Main Event
SEL Season 2 Championship
FEL Cracov 2025
Esports World Cup 2025
StarSeries Fall 2025
FISSURE Playground #2
BLAST Open Fall 2025
BLAST Open Fall Qual
Esports World Cup 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall Qual
IEM Cologne 2025
FISSURE Playground #1
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2025 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.