Part Three: The Chosen One

This is the final post of my three part series on a recent interaction with a local artist.  During the interview obviously the artist was asked about her work.  She responded in typical artistic fashion that her work isn’t work.  It is simply her life.  This was an idea I had recently been tossing around in my head.  My parents have always said parental phrases such as “you have to crawl before you walk” and “we all have to do things we don’t want to do.”  My upbringing caused an internal struggle within me.  Am I wrong to want a job that I don’t dread doing?  Is it wrong to long for a career that doesn’t leave me feeling unappreciated and useless?  Let me state here that I know that there is no career path or job that is perfect.  I fully understand that there will be aspects I do and do not enjoy about a job.  I also understand that I will work with people that I sometimes do not get along with.  All of these things cannot be controlled.  However I still feel that if I enjoy what I do, the minor things will not affect me.

I personally want to be career oriented, thus why it has taken me so long to find something I want to do.  I see it as making a long-term commitment and I want to make sure I am picking the right one.  I want a job that is more of a lifestyle rather than something I must do.  Listening to this artist talk about her work reaffirmed my thoughts on the matter.  She talked about how her art was her life and that art had chosen her.  Even when she tried to put it down she couldn’t.  She could not separate herself from it because it was in fact her life.  Her words described everything I was currently feeling.  I had spent so much time and energy trying to escape what I really wanted to do for fear of not being smart or good enough.  I felt I needed to be practical and only stick with what I had experience with.  In the past few years, I have pondered, thought, and tried many different career paths.  The answer was clearly staring me in the face.  I did not take the time to listen to my inner voice. 

I am so thankful that morning shed light on major questions I was asking myself.  I also had many friends and family members asking the same questions about their futures.  Therefore I knew I needed to share this experience.  I hoped that what has chosen me (helping others through writing) will assist someone else on their quest.  In conclusion remember the following things; take time to listen to yourself, be happy with yourself and allow something to choose you.