My blog-pal Susanne touched a nerve in a recent comment. She's right: well-meaning folks will often advise you to "find a job doing something that you love", as if the thought had never occurred to you. These are the same people who say, "drink lots of fluids and get some rest" if you have a cold. Never mention car problems to these folks.
The problem with getting paid a living wage doing something you love is that it's nearly impossible to do. For instance, I love working at the station, but it's a volunteer thing. I checked around the local commercial stations, and they are only hiring for advertising sales. Yech. NPR/PBS have no openings at all.
Every blue moon or so, I get paid to record a band-but the work is very sporadic, as most bands are below poverty.
I love writing, but lack the funds to self-publish. I did just get a book called The Writer's Handbook, which has tips on submitting manuscripts and proposals. I should give that a shot.
I wish I had a deep passion for paperwork and data entry.
Sigh. I wish this. I want that.
Something is missing. I used to think that romantic love would ease this feeling, and I may still be correct in this belief, but I'm beginning to suspect I'll never know. The only women I seem to attract are either married/engaged etc. and don't have time to waste on quaint and charming things like courtship, romance and honesty ; or they're crazier than me. Often both.
Did I mention I asked Church Girl from the last job if she'd like to go out? Well, I did, and it was a mistake. Turns out she is Born Again, which is my least favorite type of Christian. How can someone follow Jesus' teachings and be intolerant of almost everything? Jesus would shit flaming halos if He saw what people were doing in His name. Really. I mean, the uber-zealots consider Eric Rudolph a hero/saint/martyr . I'm not a biblical scholar, but I am a sinful gambler, and I'd wager $5,000 that Jesus never advocated the assassination of doctors. (or anyone else)
So now China is threatening us with nuclear war? That makes less sense than a solar-powered flashlight. All the Chinese have to do is call in their U.S.A. I.O.Us and our economy will sink like Atlantis. They know it and we know it.
We also have GOP idiots threatening to nuke Mecca in retaliation for any catastrophic WMD attack on U.S soil. Our good buddies the Saudis most love that comment.
What if there is an attack and we nuke Mecca, only to learn that it was a Tim McVeigh/David Koresh type responsible?
World War 3 for no reason. Our armed forces are in no condition to fight that war.
Our world is run by evil lunatics.
3 comments:
I think we do a huge disservice to young people in that we say "you can be whatever you want when you grow up" and all the rest. Not all skills are marketable to the same degree, and so they get out of college with their Chemistry degree, for example, and go work in retail. What a waste imo. Plus you see a lot of kids that have no passion for anything, so you talk to them about what they want to do, and they shrug. (my younger bro is 23 so I have been around a lot of college kids for awhile). They like video games, so you discuss the jobs around video games and they don't want or can't do them. (yes, I do not believe everyone can do every job) Many times they end up settling for a job. There was a lot of hullabaloo up here in Seattle recently because Mr. Bill (Bill Gates) said there weren't enough kids graduating in computer-related fields in the US - that they're having a hard time finding people. It is true. India is churning out people from their 5 IIT campuses and we don't, because we encourage liberal educations that don't map to anything. Sorry, this is one of my major pet peeves, so I'm rambling haha.
I guess I believe there will still be those that choose to get degrees in areas that don't map to jobs. I also believe one should and can "garner a soul" through self-study, introspection, and discussion with others. I'd rather people had a skill they could support themselves on and then do whatever that turns them on too.
My study of philosophy was limited in college because the professors used their theistic beliefs as the foundation for their logic and deducement - hence the bad grades for an atheist who sees that other foundations can exist, etc. I learned most about philosophy by reading other philosophers, minds far superior to any professor I had. My point is a philosophy degree, the thing that turned me most on in college, doesn't map to a job either. I did not finish college btw, but rather leveraged my training experience from the military and hours of reading up on technologies on my own to get a job at Microsoft. In my free time, which comes randomly while I stay at home with my children, I do the things that excite my mind. I think our liberal education has become so focused on exposure to lots of things that we have lost sight of job skills and practical knowledge. That's also why so many kids have no direction when they come out of college and end up working in retail or something. We have the conversation of jobs AFTER the education, rather than letting them know the facts so they can hopefully target their education better, or if not, at least know the decision they are making. A son of a co-worker my husband had when he first got out of college just graduated college. He wants to work for Microsoft now. He didn't have the "what is Microsoft looking for" conversation until after he had his degree. My husband told him to take some community college classes to learn certain skills. He was disappointed he had to do more school, but we don't arm our kids with the hard facts until afterwards, so now a bunch of his college work that could have been aimed appropriately is not. He is frustrated, and rightly so. It's not the 50s generation where if you get a degree, you're set with a job. It's a pay-for-skills market. Of course we need those that are driven by their niche passions - art in its many forms, etc - but there's a reason the terms "starving artist", etc exist lol. We just need to make sure that kids understand that if they choose that path, what it really means, not the old standby "you can do whatever you want". Some with so much passion for it will continue and that is fantastic. But we won't have 1000 kids trying to vie for the 1 "opening" thinking they all will get in. It just seems a disservice to me. Doh, rambling again haha.
*Be advised - this is long, rambling personal account*
The man I am dating was raised in an environment where only rich kids get a liberal arts education. He was very bluntly given the facts that he would need a skill to survive and only after that was accomplished would he possibly have the option of pursuing his other interests. He dropped out of high school, joined the military, worked almost every odd job you can think of and finally went to computer school so he could afford to go to college for the rest of his life. He has often told me, "I have always known that once I start college, I will never leave."
I began my college career as a Nursing major because it was a marketable skill, I enjoyed working in hospitals as a CNA, and I was really good at it. Halfway through my first semester I was miserable with chemistry and the sciences - not that I was horrible at them, but that they beat all passion out of me. I decided I was done, if this was what I had to do to survive I would prefer to work at 7-11 and have more free time.
I stopped going to school for a week, with no intention of returning. But then I looked at my literature syllabus and realized we were discussing T.S. Eliot the next day and I could not stay home.
I changed my major to English with a minor in Religion almost immediately. I graduated last year and will return for graduate school next year so I can become a college professor.
The greatest thing I ever did is pursue my passion. I didn't know initially what I was going to do with an English degree, but I knew that if I was going to spend thousands on my education - I was damn well going to enjoy it.
The man I am currently dating now has dreams of gaining a PhD so he can teach the subjects he loves. He has told me that one of the greatest gifts I have given him is the belief that he can do the things he loves and not starve.
I do believe people can be happy and fulfilled if they have a job and then pursue their personal interests and passions on the side. But I also believe that it's not necessary and that some people, like me, cannot be happy and fulfilled unless their job allows them to pursue their personal interests and passions.
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