I graduated high school in 2005. Yeah. I know. Then I waited a year, and went to college in Illinois in fall of 2006. I spent a year there, realized there was no reason for me to waste money on something when I didn’t know how to apply it, and moved to the east coast. Let’s not talk about the falling-in-love part. I got a few jobs, some very cool, some very boring, until I found this job where they let me create brochures and ads for the firm. Still not quite what I wanted to do, but it gave me good experience, and I met some wonderful people. Broke up with said love. Moved on. Found another way to wrench my heart out.

Now, it’s 2009. All of my old high school friends have already graduated from college. Some are getting married. Some joined the military. They’re in a new part of life. But I have been in that part of life, the working part, for over two years now, and let me tell you – there’s no rush, folks. Sure, school can be hard work, especially if you apply yourself. But the hardest work of all is committing yourself to a routine of dull monotony, very little free time, and poor health habits. There are few things more difficult than waking up at an ungodly hour (where’s the sun?), wearing clothing you cannot stand to wear because it’s so uncomfortable but considered appropriate, skipping breakfast because it’s just too early to eat, riding a bus and a train with hundreds of sweaty, unhappy people, then finally getting into work just to sit on your butt at a tiny, uncomfortable desk where the computer is three inches from your face and you can feel yourself slowly losing your ability to see. You get hungry at 8:30 and then starve to death until noon when finally, blessedly, you get to see the sun for an hour and have stimulating conversation, but then you plod right back into your box like a cow in a stall, chewing and standing and producing just enough to get by until all you can think about is that blessed day when finally they put a lead around your neck, take you out back, and shoot you between the eyes. Then it’s time to ride home again with those hundreds upon thousands of sweaty, unhappy, and now tired people, who push and shove because they don’t care about anyone but themselves, and why should they? They suffer this treatment every day from everyone else. Eventually, you just follow their lead because those who don’t push don’t get by. You get home, you’re exhausted, you flop on the bed and realize that you can’t lay down because you have to run two loads of laundry, finish the dishes you forgot to do last night, sweep the floor you’ve been neglecting, and cook yourself something to eat. Something quick, because there’s no time and you’re tired and you don’t want to have to clean up afterward. Quick food is not healthy food. You eat it (quickly), you throw your laundry in, you do a once-over of the floor and then you realize that you haven’t done a single thing you actually wanted to do all day, and it’s time to go to sleep or waking up in the morning will be difficult. For five out of seven days a week, 71% of your entire working life, you are a slave, a mindless automoton who simply does what they’re told because it puts food on the table and a TV in the living room. Very little room for mental growth, and room in only one direction for physical growth : out. Nevermind the fact that you’re actually a talented artist or that you love singing show tunes, or that your dream is to be the ultimate Chess champion. You don’t have time for Chess. You don’t have time to paint. And don’t even think about singing show tunes, because the neighbors call the police the moment they hear guitars. The weekend? Otherwise known as the only time you have to run to the grocery store, take your cat to the vet, mow the lawn and prune the shrubs, clean the McDonalds wrappers out of your car, and finally fold the clothes you cleaned the night before but were too tired to put away. By the time you catch up on the sleep you lost throughout the work week, finish your chores, and plan the week ahead, it’s time to go to work again.

Two years of slavery, and I’m done. I refuse to do this anymore. Sure, sometimes work can be bearable, even fun for a few minutes or for one project…but the majority of the time, it’s drudgery. What did I learn from all of this?

Life is too short to subject yourself to things you do not enjoy for long periods of time. There are ways, lots of ways, to find what you enjoy and do that for a living. You just have to be dedicated, be a hard worker, and be able to branch out from a routine. All it takes is motivation, and two years of this life has given me all the motivation I need to begin working for myself and no one else. Work with people you like, not with people you need. Live in a place that makes you happy, not that puts you in a prime location for opportunity. Many people like to talk about “getting ahead”. What is “getting ahead”? What is “success”? Is it money? No. Is it a certificate of accomplishment? No. Is it a promotion? No.

Success is being happy, and getting ahead is taking the steps toward success. Not just being happy 29% of your life, but being happy 99% of your life, being free to make healthy living choices, being free to devote your full attention to a family should you choose to have one, being free to play games once in a while or paint a picture or sing at the top of your lungs. Sure, sometimes you have to do things you don’t like, and sometimes it can be painful, boring, or unsatisfying, but as long as you can remain happy, you’re succeeding. Too often, people get caught up in the “money, stuff, bills” aspect of life and they forget that even if they are working overtime making enough money to buy that awesome jet-ski, how often do you actually get to USE that jet-ski? There has to be a balance to life. If you work X hours, you should get X hours of leisure time. If you do chores for X hours, you should get X hours of play time. Somehow, we’ve lost sight of this balance. Life is so out of balance now that we accept things that we should never have to accept, like losing your eyesight early or gaining 100lbs. due to inactivity, or developing life-long back and neck problems.

Many people don’t enjoy their jobs. They do them because it puts food on the table. They do them because they’re responsible for their family or their pets, or because they have a strong desire for a Mercedes Benz CLK320 Convertible. Who doesn’t? The point is, life is meant to be enjoyed AT LEAST 50% of the time. If you aren’t achieving that 50% or more, start changing things! Don’t be afraid of change, embrace it as a new opportunity for happiness.

I am changing things because I’ve had enough. And when I have enough of whatever I’ve changed it to, I’ll change it again. I will keep changing my life and my surroundings so that I maintain the happiness I deserve. If I work hard, I know I can get there, and I will be happy getting there because I chose my own path, and having the choice is good enough for me.