The Reality of Work

Careers are chosen by 17-year-olds. Those who have barely been on this planet long enough, who have most likely never made such a life decision before - they are the ones who pick careers. Everyone puts their two cents in - do this, not that - this is a good profession, that is not - this is respectable, that is not - this pays more, that does not. But no one ever tells them the most important thing about careers. Your career becomes your life once you get a job.

As an adult you spend a minimum of 8 hours at your job. You spend usually 6-8 hours of the day sleeping, an hour or more driving to and from your job, and maybe an hour getting ready for your job in the morning. How many hours does that leave? 6-7 hours. A majority of your day is spent at your job, doing the thing you picked as a 17-year-old. And people wonder why my generation changes majors so much!

Everyone always says - spend time with your family and friends, your job won't be there for you when you die. But then why do we spend a majority of our hours at work? Why is it that our adult lives are mostly consumed with our jobs, the people we work with, and everything related to that? As a teenager looking at colleges I knew how important a career was for money, the vague future, status, etc. But I didn't really understand how important it was to pick something you can devote your life to. Because like it or not, that is what we all do. We do it for different reasons - love, money, time - but we all devote ourselves to our "jobs."

So what if you make a mistake in picking that first time around? So what if you change your mind in college and pick something else? No big deal, right? Right - it's easy to change your mind in college, you haven't been out in the world and everything revolves around paying tuition. If you can pay it, change your mind as many times as you want. But what if you make a mistake again, but this time you are out of college. You are an adult now and working full-time. What if you decide that your life is not fulfilled. What if you feel a void inside of you all the time. What if you realize you are slowly drifting and your mind is weakening. How do you go about changing things? Do you change your attitude about your life and job (is that why so many people go to therapy?)? Do you go back to school and find a different career (can you really afford that with all the bills you now have?)? Or do you suck it up and realize that misery is synonymous with life? Unfortunately, too many of us follow that last option. It kills our spirit but we do it anyway because all of a sudden we are not in college, it is not easy to change your mind, and that's how you come about being stuck.

I always wondered why adults laughed at kids who were high-spirited. I wondered why they referred to what kids say as innocent and naive. Now I don't wonder anymore. It's because as adults we suppress happiness, we suppress our innocence and our wide-eyed beliefs and become cynical, stuck fools. (And I mean that in the nicest way possible). Maybe it is too late for us. Maybe as adults we do lose heart and we don't believe anymore, but is that really what will happen to all those innocent children we feel through? What about when they grow up and become like us? Is that alright?

I don't know about you but it breaks my heart to realize that someday those kids will grow up and reach a point where they won't believe anymore. Where Prince Charming, the castle, and the dreams will just remain a fantasy. Where real life will kick their butts and they will become disheartened. And what if no one encourages them? What if they have to find their own way? Will they? Something has to change. Maybe not for us - maybe it is too late for us, but what about them? Every generation wants to do something better for the next generation - for their kids and those who will be the future. Maybe this is what we can do? Maybe we can make them aware of what life really becomes like. Maybe we could make them realize how important a job really will be. Maybe we prepare them instead of letting them be blind-sighted. I would love for the world to change and for these kids to be able to follow their dreams and never give up. But really, is that even possible? If it was, wouldn't our parents and grandparents have done it for us?

Society has made us into such molds that if a person doesn't have a career they feel passionate about, or a job that serves their family well, then they are nobodies. These individuals are made to feel as if they are not good enough and that they have to do something. And I agree, they do have to do something, but I believe they should do something they love. Being forced into a job or a situation for reasons you don't like is disheartening. But that is the precise catch-22. If you don't do what is "required" by society you are made out to be a nobody, and if you do what is required, you end up losing yourself in your mind. So I guess it comes down to a personal decision. What is worse, being a failure for everyone else, or being a failure for yourself? You pick.