A Three-Year Time Capsule: Reflections on Dreams, Detours, and the Unfolding Future
The date was February 3rd, 2022, a seemingly ordinary day that held a secret for the future. "So it is February 3rd, 2022, 2022, so this will be on Earth on February 3rd, 2025," the speaker announced, creating a small time capsule for their audience three years hence.
The speaker then delved into a significant personal milestone from that time: having recently quit their job. "For the first time since I was 16 years old, I actually didn't work for anybody." This newfound freedom was met with a mix of anticipation and self-awareness. "I honestly believe that not having this day job is going to create more time for me to just sort of be me and relax and not be so constantly working. Of course, I do know I'm the type of person who will probably fill up all of my free time with new projects." A humorous anecdote about the peculiarities of working from home marked the transition.
Embracing this liberation, the speaker embarked on a road trip. "So I'm now on day two of driving, and uh, man, that's I'm I don't know, I think I'm somewhere, I don't know where am I? I don't even know what state I'm in at this point, but I'm driving." A brief farm greeting punctuated the travelogue. "Good morning Birds! How's everybody doing this morning? Release the quacken!"
The journey south involved visiting cherished friends. Encounters with Justin and Rebecca, admiring their four-month-old calf, and stays with Megan, Ben Holler, Jess, and Jeremiah Sards in South Carolina filled the days. A glimpse into the routine of milking a cow with an adopted calf added a touch of farm life to the travel narrative. The trip was a welcome respite. "It was fun to just go somewhere else, and as much as I love this place in February, leave some of the routine behind and get to see people you really love and spend time with them and have conversations."
While staying with Jess and Jeremiah, a conversation about the future unfolded, leading to an impromptu video recording. The resulting exchange, a playful yet earnest speculation about the year 2025, formed the core of the present-day viewing experience.
"Oh goodness, okay, all right, I don't even know how we're going to start this. This is your idea, see you should start it." The initial awkwardness quickly gave way to a collaborative effort to envision the world three years later. The year 2025 was tentatively agreed upon as the target.
"All right, hello everybody in 25, coming at you from 2022," the speaker declared, brimming with optimism. This contrasted with Jess's more cautious outlook. "See, I'm such a like, I'm I'm is such a worst-case scenario. She's like, what if things are really bad?" The speaker's hopeful predictions included the end of the pandemic and a smoother political landscape post-2024 election. Jess, however, humorously pondered more apocalyptic scenarios.
The conversation then turned to the farm's anticipated state in 2025. The speaker envisioned a fully permacultured and established ecosystem, with the house built and the farm largely in order. "I hope that this Farm is fully permacultured, established, like ecosystem in place." The desire for a property requiring primarily maintenance rather than constant large projects was expressed, though Jess remained skeptical about this ambitious timeline.
Jeremiah offered a more grounded perspective, suggesting the inevitable emergence of new, unforeseen projects. The speaker playfully likened their aspirational pronouncements to Babe Ruth pointing towards a home run.
The focus then shifted to the Gold Shaw Farm's online presence. The speaker hoped for over a million subscribers and the release of their second book, a sequel potentially featuring the barn cats. A personal bucket list item – achieving New York Times bestseller status – was also shared. Jess playfully contrasted the speaker's aspirations with the often-disillusioning reality of social media and legacy media.
Speculation about the growth of "R and Refuge," Maya's channel, followed. While the speaker offered a conservative estimate, Jess predicted significant growth, potentially nearing two million subscribers. The different milestones of YouTube growth were discussed.
The conversation then turned to Maya's Workshop, Maya's own burgeoning channel. The speaker expressed hope for Maya to also surpass a million subscribers by 2025. Maya's primary content focus – regular VR videos offering immersive farm experiences – was highlighted.
The speaker reflected on their own YouTube journey, noting the psychological significance of reaching the 500,000 subscriber mark. The conversation then broadened to include their brick-and-mortar store venture in downtown Batesburg, a project in its early conceptual stages during the 2022 recording. The anticipation of the store's future reality – a functional coffee shop in a historic house – was palpable. The speaker emphasized their focus on the success of these tangible projects over mere subscriber counts.
Jess highlighted the inherent unpredictability of the future, expressing excitement to see how their predictions would unfold. The speaker reminisced about their personal circumstances in February 2019, around the time of their first collaborative video, underscoring the impossibility of foreseeing their present situation. The hope that their optimistic predictions for 2025 – peace and stability – would materialize was voiced.
A meta-reflection on the act of watching the three-year-old video ensued. The speaker admitted to initial dread but found the experience surprisingly insightful, offering much-needed perspective. The exercise of imagining what advice they would give their past self led to the conclusion that no such intervention was necessary. The journey, with all its unexpected turns, had been essential.
Maya's perspective, shared after watching the video, echoed this sentiment. Despite not achieving everything initially envisioned, they had gained what was truly needed. The speaker and Jess agreed on the value of this time capsule and considered making another similar video in the near future, looking towards 2030.
The conversation concluded with a reflection on the nature of dreams and the unpredictable path of life. Dreams, initially perceived as clear finish lines, often evolve, encountering detours and delays. However, the journey itself fosters growth, resilience, and a clearer understanding of what truly matters. No dream is wasted, regardless of its outcome. The willingness to take risks and persevere yields something even greater than initially imagined. The final message encouraged viewers facing feelings of being behind or overwhelmed to keep moving, doing, and dreaming, as the passage of time would occur regardless, and the story being written was inherently worthwhile.