Top 5 Fantasy Jobs:
1. Being reborn as photographer Annie Leibovitz, for the sole purpose of taking that Rolling Stone cover of John and Yoko.
2. New York Times features writer who publishes novels on the side.
3. Singer in a rock and roll band.
4. Gallery owner in Barcelona.
5. One of those Jager girls who walks around the bar, giving out shots. But only if they let me wear Hooters-inspired attire.
Why does our generation identify so strongly with our professions? (And with High Fidelity.) Every one of my friends wraps their identity in what they do for a living. If they, like me, are dissatisfied with their jobs, unchallenged or unimpressed, they're constantly apologizing for it. I myself choose the route of self-deprecation, making acerbic jokes about my occupation as a "Project Assistant," and getting offended when others make similar jokes. Only I'm allowed to point out the absurdity in what I do. When someone else does it, that feels like a threat, or worse yet-condescension.
Why do we judge one another for our jobs? Everyone I know went to college. Almost everyone has their bachelor's degree. We are intellecutally, on paper, equals. Some days, it feels like these discretions are noted because no one makes you take a certain job. Ostensibly, we could get any job we wanted.
In my experience though, that hasn't been the case. We need more experience, we need more schooling, we need better connections. Maybe these optimistic expectations are the result of our culture. America, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, become something from nothing. The intense pressure to become something. What a country.
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2 comments:
So true so true.
how could we NOT be defined by our careers?
beth, you know just as well as anyone that we've been conditioned both directly and subconsciously to pursue a successful trade of some sort. parents, pastors, professors; we're a product of their influence. the minute we both stepped into our st. e's, our path was written ... in a general sense.
i have personally struggled with this a great deal; the fact that there are built-in expectations {limiations?} as a white 20~something from missouri. i suggest finding solace in the fact that you have the ability to see beyond that.
ironically, that awareness is a function of your higher education.
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