Hi, it’s me, Ethan Lee.

I’m the creator, executive editor, writer, managing editor, blogger, graphic designer, etc. here at The Underdog Tribune. I wear a lot of hats. Mostly because this is an independent sports blog/journalism project/digital media thing.

And, at least for a little while, I think I’m going back to independent sports blogging/journalism/digital media.

I left Maroon and White Nation a few days back and then took a few days off of writing. Partially because my brain is fried. Also because life changed in a rather significant manner.

In addition to being a husband and owner of two overgrown, muddy dogs, I’m now the father to two kids under four, so I’m perpetually busy. I also have a day job, which also keeps me a little busy. There’s other responsibilities I have going on in both my personal and professional lives.

So, I needed to make some changes.

With all of the obligations and responsibilities I’m juggling, I needed to adjust course a little bit. And that’s bringing the *overwhelming majority of my independent writing and creative efforts* here.

Thus, leaving Maroon and White Nation. I’m focusing in on being a more present husband and father and figuring out what that means for all aspects of my life moving forward.

Because there are a lot of changes that have taken place since my second child was born. And thus a lot more changes to come, I’m sure.

It’s changed my sportswriting avenue to here. At least for the foreseeable future. Until life changes again and God tells me to change course once more. My sportswriting is here until it’s not.

And that includes my Mississippi State sportswriting. That’s going to be here, along with several of my other harebrained schemes and creative sports media ventures. With college baseball and college softball showing up, I’m going to be writing about that here this season.

But with all of these changes comes a few more changes that are a bit more personal in nature. I’ll be significantly scaling back my involvement on social media. It’s just not healthy for where I’m at right now and I’m figuring out which platforms I’ll be on and which ones I won’t.

Some accounts are going to get deleted. And that’s totally and perfectly fine.

I’m still figuring out what that looks like. I’m still figuring out what this site is going to look like. I’m still figuring out what my weekly schedule is going to look like.

There are a lot of things that I have to figure out and things are going to change on the fly.

But, until I’m not, I’m here. For however long that is. I’m here until I’m not. And I’m really excited to spend some nebulous amount of time and creative energy getting this site moved in some sort of direction again.

I’m grateful to have had the time to work on and lead Maroon and White Nation once again. I’m not going to rule out returning there at some point in the future in some capacity. I’m a big fan of FanSided as a platform for creatives and I’m a big fan of the folks running the show there. They’ve been nothing but kind to me.

There are too many people to thank when it comes to my relationship with FanSided, but with regards to my latest stint, shoutout to Michael Collins and Kyle Franzoni specifically.

As it comes to the Maroon and White Nation team, I’m grateful to everyone who contributed to the site in a public manner and the folks who hung out in the group chat. They’re great guys and I’m forever grateful to have had the chance to chat with them.

Now as it comes to moving forward, Lent seems like a pretty natural time to shake things up and make some changes. And this feels like a natural season of change for me anyways with adjusting to life as a father to two.

So, to recap:

I’m not at Maroon and White Nation, I’m going to be doing some nebulous amount of sportsbloggin’ (journalism? writing? whatever you want to call it) here, I’m ditching most of my social media presence, and I’m trying to be a better father and husband (and person in general).

I’m anxious, but that’s not new. I’m also excited. A lot’s changing. And that’s fun.