Introductions should of course come at some point right? So, what better time than now.
I’m Jonny Yonks; a proud Michigan native with strong opinions on the Midwest and the way that people from the Midwest are viewed. I am an average but avid cyclist who favors long rides that become overnighters, a lover of mystery-thriller novels, Dog-Dad, non-shaming vegan, budding homesteader, and lawyer living in Marquette, Michigan. I co-own a boutique law firm and my wife owns Michigan’s first and only mobile bookstore.
More often than not you will see one of two very drastic sides if you run into me in person.
Shirt/tie/slacks guy exists during normal business hours on the weekdays. He is pleasant, polite, professional, and focused on helping others navigate difficult age-related legal issues with their families. He’s a pretty good dude.
The other me is the an amalgamation of the non-economically viable endeavors that bring me joy. This often feral creature is best observed mid-descent (either on a gravel bomber or a shade-dappled dreamy berm), or creeping through the woods looking for trout or mushrooms. This version can also be found in the greenhouse or sauna around home poking around and listening to true crime or economics podcasts.
Why then would I take the time to write in this blog? Don’t I have enough things begging for my time? In short, this blog has been a passion project in my head for a long time. I say in my head because as you can see, not much of the mental energy spent thinking about writing or blogging has made its way to press on this site… The reason for this rests firmly in imposter syndrome (I don’t necessarily have any wirting credentials) and a perceived requirement that the things that I put out must be perfect. In fact, they don’t really matter. I want to be a creative so badly that I am paralyzed from actually creating anything and sending it into the world. I haven’t always thought that I have something worth saying. Well, no more.
My “why” is simply because. I recently read Rick Rubin’s book: The Creative Act: a way of being. In this wonderful work, the famous record producer shares his thoughts on creativity and what it means to be creative. One of the most captivating passages was about the ‘why’ of creating. In essence he said you don’t alwyas need to play to win. Most of the time we should be playing to play. This has inspired me to finally play to play. So I am going to use this as a place to work things out. I am going to slowly draw down on social media and spend more time here creating or sharing things that I have created in the real world.
It’s going to be weird sometimes and that is ok. This will be a place for others to see the world from my angle and I hope that you follow along.
Will the posting be regular? I don’t know, it will probably be sporadic.
-J
Dirtbag Yuppie 