Justine Bateman.

Last night I found Justine Bateman’s blog titled “getacollegelife” on tumblr. Justine is an American actress who starred most famously on the show Family Ties in the 80’s. Justine decided to attend college later in life, after much of her career as an actress came to an end. She attended UCLA and earned a computer science and digital media relations degree. She realized that her experience, attending college in her 50’s, was counter to the norm. She decided to document her experience as a middle-aged woman attending college for the first time via her blog.

Eventually she discovered her journey had value to others. She connected with readers who were thinking about doing the same thing she was doing, were doing the same thing she was doing, or had successfully done the same thing she did. 

She asked her readers to write to her and share their experiences. Bateman was kind enough to share those experiences on her blog too.

I found the blog refreshing. 

Some people’s non-conventional path in life becomes their identity. It seems to me that Bateman is using her non-conventional path in life as a descriptor rather than an identity. She’s using it to connect with people who’ve attended college in a non-conventional way. This is the same way I’ve hoped to connect with people through my blog too.

From the moment I began writing about my experience with my family’s business, or to use an of the moment phrase, my experience as a ‘nepo baby’, I recognized the risk I ran of sounding like a whining, spoiled brat.

I’d be crazy not to recognize that’s what many people will think when they read me. 

Fortunately, I’m not looking for sympathy from people who have never been nor will ever be in the same position as me in life. There are far too many people more deserving of sympathy than I am and simply not enough sympathy in the world to spare. 

I do however hope to connect with people who might have similar experiences to the ones I’ve had or wonder what it’d be like to live the life I have. 

My hope is to provide value to those who want.

And ultimately help people understand that the lack of convention or adherence to social norms is what gives them value.