Aleen

Weeks ago, I took a mental break, decided to make a salad, and watch some of my favorite YouTube vloggers. When the last vlog ended, an interesting one entitled “Why I’m starting a YouTube channel at 90” popped into my feed. “After a career teaching chemistry, Aleen discovered stained glass in her 70's and progressed into fused glass. Nearing 90, she would like to encourage other seniors to try something new in their golden years and give glass art a chance.”

Curiosity and a nice hook always grab my attention, and this time was no exception. So, I clicked on the thumbnail and was immediately taken in by Aleen’s storytelling and her background setting.

Seconds before the vlog ended, I paused and went straight to the comments. As anticipated, the comments were positive. Aleen had made an impact, geographically and demographically from ages 19 to 80+. I continued to read and found myself smiling and feeling inspired by both Aleen’s story and the optimistic and re-affirmed self-worth responses.

In a short three-minute and thirty-three second clip, Aleen had become an inspiration to individuals who were just beginning their life’s journey, some who admittedly were a fraction of her age but had given in to excuses and life’s fatigue, and more with a range of other life experiences. But hearing Aleen’s story had inspired some to subscribe to her channel, others to realize that it was okay to reinvent oneself or find another passion after setbacks or reaching a chronological milestone that makes one question their purpose, or reason to continue living and exploring other paths in life. 

Community, a sense of belonging and purpose continues to be the resounding theme from the engaging content that I’ve interacted with since the pre and post COVID impact sent me in search of meaningful social media distraction. Things that resonate because I find myself longing for them now that I am at a life stage where I have completed the caretaker purpose that encompassed the majority of my adulthood, and the community that I once had did not stand the test of time.

Prior to taking my mental break, I had gone through another round of questioning about my purpose in an attempt to answer the question, “where do I go from here” now that my life has deviated from the familiar and planned path. Aleen’s video and the level of engagement it garnered in views, 250K in two weeks, and my impression from reading most of the nearly three thousand comments, was inspirational.

I turned off the television and walked back to my computer to capture these thoughts and set an agenda to finalize plans to launch the procrastinated blog that has been floating through my mind and captured in notes for the past few years. If you’re reading this online, then you know that I have followed through and have more stories to come.

 Thanks for reading. Welcome to “On My Mind!”