Young Austin is Very Happy

I live in the past. I am constantly trying to rekindle some emotion that I had years ago. That’s what this newsletter focuses on; finding that feeling and enjoying it.

Last week’s newsletter got me thinking about my life goals as a kid. When I was young, I was so excited to grow up and have a job. The issue was, I had no idea what I wanted to do. 

Figuring out what you want to do in life is a life long affair. (I’m 26, and I am still figuring out what I want my career to look like) The key to it all is to look back at the younger version of yourself and see if they would be proud of you. As a kid, I loved being creative and trying new things. I had thousands of legos that helped me tell the stories in my head. What’s funny is that I’m still that same exact kid today, just using some different tools to tell the stories.

My parents never really gave me a direct path to what they wanted me to do with my career. My mom wanted me to be a doctor, which was not going to happen. It was about 12 years ago the first time I sat down and created a video. My mom was turning 40 and I wanted to surprise her with a special gift. I booted up the one computer we had and opened up windows movie maker. I had so much fun creating the video but got even more satisfaction from seeing my mom react to it. It was a simple slideshow video with her siblings saying happy birthday to her but she truly loved it. That moment burnt an image in my mind; I can use videos to get people to feel something.

Since then, I went to school for video production and now work a full time job capturing photos/videos for clients. I love what I get to do everyday, but there are also days where it is hard and I hate it. In those moments, I try to remember what younger Austin dreamed about and how I am actually living that dream. 

Every decision in my life so far has been to get into a career creating content; which I am doing right now. So I challenge you, look back at the younger version of yourself and ask them if they are proud of you? You don’t have to be an astronaut or a fireman like they wanted, but are you doing work that would make them happy and fulfilled? I ask myself this question on a weekly basis because it always challenges me to want the best for myself; and in the end, that’s all that matters. 

If you didn’t know already, I am a huge video game fan; specifically story driven video games. I love going on an adventure and growing my character into a hero over the course of the game. The games that I have felt that more than anything is the Zelda series; and in this case Ocarina of Time.

Yeah, I know this game came out in 1998; but surprisingly, I had never played it. Last year during covid, I played the newest Zelda (Breath of the Wild) and fell in love with it. I’ve played many of the other Zelda games but hadn’t picked them back up since I was a kid. So after completing this newest Zelda, I wanted to go back to it’s roots.

I have tried to complete Ocarina of Time several times, but never fully beat the game. I would get to a specific dungeon and quit because it became too hard. This time I pushed through it, and boy am I happy I did.

Ocarina of Time is a story of a boy (Link) who sets out on an adventure to save the kingdom of Hyrule. Along the way, he uncovers a magically sword that transports him 7 years into the future. In this future, Hyrule has already been taken over by the antagonist Ganondorf. This mechanic creates an amazing juxtaposition of a joyous happy world and one that has lost all hope. It is Link’s job to travel back and forth in time to eventually reclaim Hyrule. 

This story is just the backbone of a giant adventure. I felt Link become more of a hero every dungeon I entered. You collect new weapons/tools that make every challenge feel fresh and exciting. I felt like a kid discovering Star Wars or Harry Potter for the first time. Every puzzle I faced made me scratch my head and truly think how to solve it. The pattern of being lost, brainstorming how to solve it, and figuring it out gave me more satisfaction than many of the games I have played in the past decade.

You might be seeing a trend of what I like in the content I consume; I love the feelings I had as a kid, and I try to replicate it any way I can. Video games give me this feeling more than any form of content. So I’ll pass the question to you, are there any movies/shows/games/books that make you feel like a kid again? Send them to me so I can check them out!