robbkvasnak:Oy, so listen, VocabGuy, here's the deal, okay. You should loin Esperanto an' we'll give'ya de Brooklyn Bridge! It's a steal, believe me! My own babushka couldn't get a betta' cut! So let's sĥake on it!

When you put it that way.... how could a guy refuse? LOL

VocabGuy:

kaŝperanto:Saying Esperanto is not practical is like saying gardening, woodworking, home-brewing, etc. are not practical. The practicality of these hobbies does not lie in their "practicality". It will almost certainly be cheaper and the beer will probably taste better when I buy it from a professional micro-brewery instead of making it myself -- that is not the point of the hobby. A hobbyist woodworker isn't bothered that it is impractical to hand-sand the chair they just made, or to even make it in the first place.

I guess this is probably the way I should look at Esperanto. Every few months I get the urge to learn it again, but I refuse to let myself just enjoy the language. Maybe that's something I'll have to do.

Thanks to everyone for their replies. All have been read and appreciated, even if I didn't respond individually!

Indeed. Esperanto is like a motorcycle; it is a motorized vehicle that can be used to get you from point A to point B, but few people buy a motorcycle because it is "practical". Enjoy your hobby, and if some other language suddenly takes priority it isn't a big deal. But don't keep yourself from doing something just because you aren't 100% sure it is the "best" thing to be doing.

kaŝperanto:...But don't keep yourself from doing something just because you aren't 100% sure it is the "best" thing to be doing.

Good advice. If we search for perfection, we will never find it. Even if we search for the 'best' thing, it doesn't work because the world is constantly evolving. Therefore, the 'best' thing constantly changes as well.

In terms of languages, learning English could be considered the 'best' choice. However, in the future, Chinese could be the 'best' choice. As the world changes, the 'best' thing will change along with it.

If you want to be really amazing, then don't follow the crowd in doing what is considered the 'best'. Instead do something that is awesome for you. Lots of people became rich because they were computer nerds in a time when it was almost a shame. It would be embarrassing to tell people that you are a system's analyst in the 70s. Now that tech has really taken off, it is cool to be a tech nerd.

Imagine someone telling you that Bitcoin is cool about 5 years ago. Imagine, they keep talking about how they are mining Bitcoin. People would think they are a loser. But now, they would be a millionaire.

So, just do something that YOU think is cool