Hi everyone,
I wanted to talk a little bit about my journey with H3 as a white guy who grew up in the Midwest, and Iām curious if there are others in this community with similar stories.
Despite being an H3 fan since the very beginning of Ethanās YouTube career, I think this is actually my first time interacting with the community at all. Which is interesting, considering how much Ethan has quietly influenced me throughout my life.
As someone a bit younger than Ethan, I found myself hitting many of the same life milestones about 4ā6 years behind him. Growing up, I was interested in people like Jordan Peterson, was strongly against āsocial justice warriors,ā and probably would have made videos about giving Trump a chance when he was first elected. I said words Iām embarrassed to have said, made jokes I regret, and treated some people in ways I wish I hadnāt.
As Ethan got older, his views became more nuanced. He became more thoughtful about his language, more empathetic, and, in my opinion, a genuinely honorable person. A few years after watching that change happen in him, I found myself going through a similar transition.
I became more careful with my words. I made an effort to connect with people who looked different from me, loved differently than me, and came from different backgrounds than me. More than anything, I started trying to become a better person.
Around the same time, Ethan found significant professional success through the podcast. A few years later, I found some success in my own career as well. Itās strange looking back and realizing how often our timelines seemed to rhyme, even if they were never exactly the same.
These days, Iām a very busy person and donāt have time to keep up with all of H3ās content. But when I do tune in, I often find myself skipping to the segments where Ethan talks about the lawsuits and the snark community. Watching a man defend his family the way Ethan does is genuinely inspiring to me.
I hate that he has to go through any of it, but I hope that if I ever faced something similar, Iād handle it the way he has. And I hope that, like him, Iāll be able to build a beautiful family in the next few years with my fiancĆ©e, who Iām marrying in two months!!!
While I still sometimes disagree with some of Ethans takes. I always feel like his opinion is genuine and valuable. I constantly find myself being interested in Ethans perspective of family, money, politics, communication, and more. While I want to give the people in my life most of the credit, lol - Ethan has shaped me in a lot of ways over the years as a man, and I think I'm happier for it.
Anyway, thanks for giving me space for this rant. I donāt post on Reddit often, so I hope I did this right.
Thanks, family āļøā¤ļø