There’s still hope
Wednesday, 12 Mar 2025
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Although he was only 22 when he started writing about Middle Earth, so maybe not so fine?
He was also a university scholar and highly regarded already by that time
1 more year and I, too, can write my own totally original story not derived by Tolkien.
He was in WW1 I don’t think any of us have anything on the guy
Comparison is the thief of joy.
RIP everyone ready this that is 45 or older.
What if I’m 46? Is it over?
Cope lmao, he was super accomplished by then
This always comes up, then some mentions this was just a side quest for him.
Maybe because he was too busy being professor at Oxford
I don’t strive to be as well read or prestigious as Tolkein. I just want to live a simple, happy life… call me Samwise.
Fuck. Thanks, I think i needed this today.
Thank you
46 year olds punching air right now
I wrote a novel and have been having lots of trouble finding a publisher for it. Seeing stuff like this does make me feel better. Success takes time. One book actually means I have written more books than anybody else that I know!
thank you, this will last me until i turn 46 🙏
Yeah, let’s see that resume prior to writing LOTR.
but he wasn’t addicted to TikTok
Well he also wrote the Hobbit, attended Oxford, became a professor and fought in WW1.
What if you’re closing in on that age 😭
I felt good about myself until I read the comments lol
But he spent a lifetime studying languages, history, mythology and folklore before that. It’s not like he was just some dude who sat down at 45 years old and wrote The Lord of the Rings from nothing.
I’m 48. Rip
But wasn’t he a professor at Oxford?
I’m 46 this year. Better get a move on
what if your 45 and still havent done shit
I’m 45, so … welp
(Nah, I’m not famous, but I’m doing all right. lol)
John Williams was also 45 when he first composed for Star Wars.
I was going to call this a “half truth” but it’s not even that. It’s a mega cope tenth of a truth. There’s so much wrong with it.
I’m 62. I’m fucked.
That hits until you’re in your 40s lol
He was also a recognised scholar and veteran of ww1 who fought at the somme
I’m 51 😭😭😭
this is less comforting in your fifties
Became youngest member of the academic staff in Leeds, professor in his early 30s, fought in WWI, produced A Middle English Vocabulary, translated Beowolf, … The Hobbit.
Honing his craft for over 20 years at that point, to a razor sharp edge, only then was he ready for his magnum opus. Stuff like that doesn’t just happen by accident one day.
People are writing about all these accomplishments that Tolkein had before writing LotR, and that’s true, but try to take away a different message. Whatever you’re doing right now, or have done, might not be your life goal, it might not make you passionate, you might feel stuck or like you’re not reaching your potential. There’s a lot of time in life to reach that potential though, all the work you’re doing now will go into the person you’re going to be when you’re 45. A 35-year old Tolkein would have written a very different LotR, maybe a much less memorable one.
I’m not