Autonomy

It's amazing how one's perspective can change so much in the matter of 15 or 16 years. When I turned 40, I couldn't help but lament the fact that I was getting older. Physical limitations had started creeping in, the mind wasn't as sharp as it once was, and our kids were growing more and more independant, leaving my wife and I feeling as if we were becoming obsolete. But I enjoyed my work and was content. I'm now approaching 56 and look forward to the day when I can be done with full-time work. Quite honestly, I no longer enjoy what I do and I'm tired of being on someone else's schedule. I want more autonomy over my weekdays.

Having personal autonomy within the hobby means many things. It means I have the right to choose what to collect, and I'm not bound to any rules or laws. If I decide to sell off cards that no longer fit into my collection to self-fund my hobby, I'm free to do so. If I decide to begin chasing insert cards that I once swore off, that's my decision. 

It means I can do an about-face regarding card designs I once thought cringe-worthy. 

And by the way, all the 1990 design needed was better quality of photos and all of a sudden it becomes a banger. I'm still not sold on those green borders, though. 

If I decide to buy those boring plain swatches because... dang, it looks so good on that card, then here, take my cash.

Hobby freedom means if I change my mind about the platforms from which I share my content, I can move on to the another one. Some collectors have left Twitter X for greener pastures and that's their choice. I use both but prefer the app formerly known as Twitter for my silica media fix. And for the time being I'm going to be using two blogging platforms: WordPress and Blogger, until I can transfer everything over to Blogger. There's a number of reasons I'm making the switch but I believe it will be easier for taking part in the blogging community as well as a more streamlined process. It seems much more user-friendly.

Until I received the Chipper First Pitch, I was a little skeptical how the colors on the 2025 design would look in-hand. All the photos I had seen online made the red on the Braves cards look almost brownish. My mind changed, however, once this card arrived. That's definitely red.

Who knows, maybe one day I’ll make a decision to quit my job and become a part-time dealer, selling cards and whatever other ephemeral things I can flip to make some cash. And if I’m lucky enough, it might become my greatest hit (from a work perspective).