Particularly when I started, I'd kick myself for starting as late as I did. I'm 34 now, and many of the comedians I look up to, and in some cases open for, are younger and more experienced than I am. I often think to myself, "if I had started when I was 18 or 19, I'd have over 15 years of experience by now." That frustrates me, because nothing was stopping me back then, other than laziness.
However, as time has passed, I've developed an appreciation for being older. I'm at a point where not only have I made peace with the fact that I started late, but I've almost embraced it. Sometimes it's harder for me to connect with my fellow comedians, because I don't feel like I have much in common with them when they're 10 years younger than me, but I feel like I'm in a better place as a person to try and make a go of this comedy thing.
For example, I think that being older provides me with a little bit of an edge when it comes to having life experience to draw from on stage. I'm not saying that young comics have nothing to talk about; Will Hannigan, Brad Semotiuk, Ryan Short are just a few of the comics I work with that are way younger than me, and they're all fucking hilarious. I just don't know what I would have talked about when I started out if I didn't have a long term relationship, failed careers and life experience to draw from. It's an edge none of them need, but I sure did....
I'm also more stable financially then I would have been had I started earlier. Certainly not rich by any stretch, but having worked full-time for 15 years before trying comedy, my girlfriend and I established a foundation for ourselves in a monetary sense, and it has made the transition into attempting to become a working comic infinitely less stressful.
Which brings me to the main reason I'm grateful that I started as late as I did with comedy; I know what it's like to work for a living. I graduated High School in 2001, and had a full time job until 2018. 17 years of driving forklifts, selling nails, answering phones. Some good jobs, some bad. I have a thorough understanding of what it takes to get up every day and go to work. And my biggest motivation to become a successful comedian is knowing that if I don't put the work into my comedy, I'll have to put the work in on a forklift again. I don't want to go back to that life. (If you drive a forklift, I'm not shitting on you. I just don't want to do it anymore. Nobody wants to be around a forklift driver that can only see out of half of his face, anyway).
I guess the point of this post is just that I've come to accept that I was a late bloomer in comedy. It's helped me in ways, and I think it's hurt me in others. I'm in a spot right now where I'm as happy as I've ever been, both professionally and at home, and if I had to go back, I wouldn't change anything that risked screwing up what I have now. Better late than never, right?
And besides, I kinda like being the old guy of the group.
Take it easy. Happy Friday!
Adam
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