Recently I
have been spending quite a lot of time revisiting old memories, reminiscing
about the past if you will; about the past few years in particular, which is
when I finished my last years at university and headed into what is called “the
real world” full of work work work (bleh), paychecks (yay) and tax returns (I
think I still need some help with those).
You may have
noticed that I mentioned ‘work’ three times here and that is because a) there’s
loads of it b) it takes up 90% of my day and c)
it has become a biiiig part of my life in general (seriously, does it ever end??). And I know I’m not the only
one here!
(So, yes, let
me just take a moment to be that person:
“Kids, take my
advice and enjoy school as long as you can. It may not seem that way because Kirstin
told Cindy who heard from Jimmy’s older brother (who is super cute and wears a
leather jacket and must therefore be a reliable source) that his sister’s
cousin’s best friend (!) said that you had cooties; but school. is awesome.”)
Seriously
though, I just had a friend of mine over and we were thinking about all the
cool things we did in school and all the cool adult things we would like to do
now. And then we realized that never again will we have as much free time for extra-curricular
(or extra-workular??) activities as we did back when we were in school. Ever.
How sad is
that? Because let me tell you, I have no shortage of ideas! But the time… oh
the time…where art though?
Back in school
it was all about figuring out what to do with all the extra time we had. Now it
is all about making time for just that one little project on the side...
(Hey, it’s me
again, the one with the advice you really want to hear:
“Kids, remember
to pick a job that you love, something that you can see yourself doing for the
rest. of. your. life! All of it! Every day. Til the very. end.”)
(Whoa this is
getting serious…)
It’s funny how
at least sometimes we let our jobs consume us (like a drunk teenager raiding
the fridge at 4 am) when really we shouldn’t. But we do anyway. Or maybe I just
have a hard time finding the right work-life balance. (I mean, I am quite new
to this whole work work work thing, so I’m not surprised…)
But my job is
on my mind most of the time. It is also the go-to conversation starter when
catching up with old friends. What have you been up to? Where are you now? How
is the internship? Where do you go for lunch? Which of your colleagues do you despise the
most? Are you being paid well??
(Although technically,
you’re not supposed to ask others about their pay... but it’s just so darn
interesting!!)
But
truthfully, it is not what most people want to spend their non-working hours
talking about. I have a friend whom I love dearly, but there are certain topics
that we simply cannot address. And work is one of them.
I get the
impression this is because it makes her uncomfortable. Career is such a big
deal, but she is not in any way where she’d like to be at this point regarding
hers. I finished my studies much sooner than she did so we are at two
completely different points in our lives career-wise and that makes it hard – or
for some perhaps even embarrassing – to speak about it.
It’s kind of
like siblings competing over who can run faster. The one being left behind
(even if only by a foot) does not want to spend the rest of the day dwelling on
this unfortunate event. Whereas the winner can hardly contain his excitement
and just keeps babbling on about his victory…
(Not that I
consider myself the winner over my friend, don’t get me wrong! I, too, am not where
I want to be just yet, there’s still a lot to be done…)
Or maybe she
simply isn’t interested in pursuing a career the way I am and that makes it
hard for us to stay on the same wavelength when briefly touching the pressuring
topic…
I’m not sure.
But one thing
is for sure: Whether we want to talk about it or not, our job is a big part of our
lives, because … well, because it ensures our existence in this world. Or at
least makes it that much easier to survive!
So I guess it
comes as no surprise that it is on our minds a lot. Like, always.
When really we’d
prefer running around our hometown dressed as stewardesses and housekeepers
promoting our up and coming theatre performance!
Which, yes, is
something I used to do.
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I guess what I
am trying to say is that I need to figure out how to find that work-life
balance; how to be fulfilled with my 9-5 job and find the time to put on a show on the side whenever I feel like it.
I believe this
is something I’m just going to have to learn on the job (ha! get what I did here?)…
How about you,
have you found that balance? How long did it take for you to get there?
And, more
importantly, when’s the show?
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