My Reason For Writing on Medium… What’s Yours?

Read this if you think you’ve left it too late

I spent almost my whole working life in a 9 to 5 office job. That’s how I was raised and I fell in line with what was expected.

Even in the last few months of his life, my father was still asking me, “Have you got a job?” He had dementia and had lost the thread of the family’s comings and goings, but had still held onto the one principle he had lived his life by.

“Get a job.”

Father drummed his belief into me and my brother, so I started full-time work at age sixteen and went to college one day a week. I loved earning money, and I mostly enjoyed going to work. This was late 70s and work was actually fun back then. Unions were powerful, membership was compulsory, working conditions were good and salaries were high.

It stayed more or less like that right up until I had children in the early 90s. Those happy days in the workplace were by then disappearing, but it didn’t bother me too much because I was so focused on the kids and only worked part-time.

When the kids were in their late teens, I put the focus back on myself. But good jobs seemed much harder to find, and I became increasingly frustrated and unhappy.

I’d always dreamed of writing for a living, even though it went against the family code. I’d already had some success in print, so pursued this further.

Fast forward to today

One divorce, several office jobs (some good, some bad), a change of career into freelance copywriting (although I don’t have an active contract at the moment; my choice), and a gap between how much money I’d like for future years and how much I have.

It’s too late for regrets, but if I’d been stronger and more focused, I could have made that career change earlier and be in a much better position now. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and if someone had told me how much I could earn as a copywriter, I’d have pushed harder in that direction.

I’m doing okay

But, hey, I’m still doing okay. I just don’t have as much as I’d like, so here I am, at 62, still hustling to plug that little gap.

And that’s fine with me. I admit I’m slower than all the twenty, thirty, even forty-something writers out there. I know my limitations and I’m at peace with it. Also, I’m still bouncing back from a pretty horrendous 2023.

A turning point

Discovering this platform late last year was the turning point for me. Despite feeling stressed, I still saw the potential of writing on Medium and the opportunities that come with building an audience here.

Looking at the possibilities ahead ignited a spark of excitement. I wondered, could Medium be a way forward? It looked like a platform where I could develop my writing amongst like-minded creatives and earn money doing it. So far, it hasn’t disappointed.

Despite my age, I won’t let it hold me back, and neither should you. Aging is the most natural thing in the world and happens to us all if we’re lucky.

I believe that it’s never too late to begin new projects. As long as I still find joy in the process and readers enjoy my work, I'll keep writing on Medium.

We all have reasons for writing on this platform; what’s yours?