It had been years since I last met a friend who used to be a colleague at my former workplace, IBM Korea. He calmly recounted his journey: from leading the Korean branch of a foreign IT company, to founding an IT outsourcing startup and running it for six years, to eventually winding down the business and returning to employment. I shared my own tumultuous journey: the coin business at a blockchain startup, the depression that followed, surviving the COVID era as a delivery driver, and finally returning to the IT industry.

Back when we worked on the same team, we were very close yet unseen rivals. But now, sharing our failures openly, that competitive edge has vanished, leaving only unguarded camaraderie. Seeing each other navigate painful times, find our footing again, and start new careers, we laughed together and sometimes choked up.

It felt like we were soccer players who had played together seamlessly in the first half of the game, only to transfer to different teams and endure long slumps through dark tunnels. Now, meeting again on the field of life’s second half, we laced up our boots, determined to “play our best game yet.” We, who were once top-performing junior sales reps at IBM Korea, now resolved to leverage our midlife experience and demonstrate our capabilities once more in our respective roles.

A fleeting regret sometimes crosses my mind: ‘Why didn’t I realize these things earlier, when I was younger and had more opportunities?’ or ‘Why didn’t I spend that precious time learning more diligently?’ But I know well that such regrets are the most unnecessary thing right now.

I resolve to let go of lingering attachments to the past and diligently focus on what I can do right now. Starting the second half of life anew with steadfast colleagues, I begin today energetically writing my blog.