So I was just lying on my couch in the dark thinking. About a lot of things actually - most of which I am sure I will end up writing down eventually. But this came into my mind as I was thinking: I have decided what I am going to do - as a career anyway - for the rest of my life. How crazy is that? Am I in any kind of position to be making such a decision? Is anybody my age really READY to make that decision. Seriously? What if there is something out there that I haven't even heard of that I would be really good at and enjoy doing more then what I do now? What am I supposed to do? Drop everything I am doing now? No way - i have committed too much into what I am currently pursuing.
I guess my point is this: how in the world do we expect people age 18-25 (some of whom have never left home or have barely spent time on their own) to choose what it is that they want to do, day in and day out, for the next 40 - 50 years of their life?!
These are young adults, they have barely experienced anything in life. They struggle about whether or not they want to put in for a late pizza call, they worry about whether or not they really think those shoes match their outfit, or who to sleep with. How in the hell do we expect these people to make life long commitments and investments? But we do and thats insane. People my age are forced in the span of about 2-3 years to weigh all potential options in terms of job, geography, salary, compatibility with raising a family... and then make a decision. But thats not the crazy part, you see a decision can be easily changed but when you commit to something then its hard to turn your back on your decision. We are asked to commit to our decision. We spends thousands of hours learning and training in preparation of our career. We spend tens of thousands (and for some people hundreds of thousands of dollars) on their career choice. Our investment is so great that to change careers would be a huge loss in terms of time, energy and money.
What if tomorrow I realized that I would be happier becoming a tattoo artist, a professional poker player, or some guy who works at Amoeba Records? Would I really have the guts to drop everything. That means leave school (but still pay the 20,000 dollars of debt I owe), and start all over. Would I dare to just cut my losses and try to start over? Who knows - I guess that is a question we will all be faced with at some point. Because there is no way we are going to live another 45-50 years without wondering if there is something else we would rather be doing.
p.s. I am going to regret writing this tomorrow morning considering I have to start my new job tomorrow :)
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