Bear torture ~ W. 44th St.
There are so many things tumbling through my head lately. Posts, half-posts, partial-posts, non-posts. Thoughts about my future, my career, what the hell I’m doing with my life (or not doing, as the case may be). If we’ve been given talents (and I do believe I’ve been given several, call me vain), then isn’t it our responsibility to use them? It’s so easy to drift through life and just let things happen to you – that’s how I’ve gotten this far in life. Opportunities seem to drop in my lap when I need them, and although I do work to make things happen I have this nagging feeling that I don’t work hard enough. It’s something that I think about often, my coasting through life.
I was listening to Queen this weekend and it hit me: two months after Freddie Mercury turned 29, Queen released A Night At the Opera. That means when he was my age, he was composing and recording “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Can you fucking imagine that, bringing that masterpiece into being at age 28? And by that point, Queen had already released three other albums. It’s inspiring, and it sets a high bar for anyone who wants to do something with their talent. And here I sit at a desk, graduating students who don’t understand what a diploma means. That’s sobering.
I had a dream shortly before my 22nd birthday, in which I was in a limo with Joe Elliott and Freddie Mercury, and we were talking about careers. Right before I woke up, Joe said to me “There will be plenty of time to sit still later. Now’s the time to excel.” I got the tattoo I have, a merging of Def Leppard cover art, to remind me of that dream. Now I have to act on it.
Bear Abuse! Call Peta, Call My Congressman, call Teddy Bear Association of The World.
Sick individuals
I feel this post.
I know what you mean. I had a friend get really depressed when he was about 28 when he’d realized that the Beatles had released Sgt. Pepper when they were his age and he still hadn’t recorded an album yet.
The real question you need to answer first is: What do you want to do with your life? Don’t feel bad if you don’t have the answer yet. I didn’t until I was 32. So if you figure it out now, you’re ahead of the curve. And you have advantages I didn’t: I had a wife and 2 kids to support.
Figure out what you love to do, what it is that will make you want to get up in the morning and be excited about going to work, then go do that. Trust me, having a career you enjoy makes enjoying the other things in life so much easier.
Yep. Yep yep yep. These thoughts have been toggling through my mind as well.
Yep.
And I’m still technically a student. I’m 29 and I’ve never had a real job.
Yep.
*weep*
Dude, you are never wasting talents, you’re just waiting for the right time/place/opportunity to use those talents. Everything happens for a reason and in the time it is supposed to. Maybe it’s just taken you this long to realize you do have those strengths and skills and that you can use them for the greater good rather than just when/if you desire to? Either way, you just need to decide what is most important to you and aim for it. Hell, look at me. I certainly wasn’t always using my skills. It took me lots of money in student loans and going towards a career in accounting before I realized that while I had skills in those areas, it wasn’t what made me happy. Now being a massage therapist and having peopel tell me every day that I have found my calling makes me feel vindicated. And while I know that massage is not to be my life long job (nor is it for any massage therapist because of the very hard mental/physical demands), that the universe will present me with the right opportunity when I need/desire it.
And if you ever need to talk, you know you can always call me, or IM or email. 
If nothing else, i can remind you of silly things we used to think were so important and now no longer matter 
Hey! I recognize that bear.
Lori~ Dude, you should, it lives by your house.
Leenie~ Maybe that’s my problem…I feel like I should be actively seeking these things when in fact the universe gives them to me in its own time. Thanks for being there for me.
ESC~ I’ve been in a “real” job for almost five years now. You ain’t missin’ nothin’.
Vince~I’ve known what I wanted to do since I was 22. I want to be a full-time dramaturg in New York City. And that’s where the problem is: there aren’t that many full-time gigs, and the ones that are there don’t pay well. But it’s time for me to start sending out resumes again and see if I get any bites. After all, I’m not committing to a job just by sending out inquiries.
Retro~Judging by the comments here as well as what my friends have been saying lately, there are a LOT of us feeling this post.
Lisa~If it makes you feel any better, they take the bear in when it rains. It’s only when it’s sunny that the bear gets roped to the handlebars.
Love Queen, that is our five year old’s favourite band!
Julie- “all good things come to those who wait” ( don’t ask me who said that!)
I know what your feeling. I was in a career that might have made me more money, but that I was just not happy with. I hit my “crossroads” a few years back- and now I’m happy with my job and my life. I just hope you get to your’s sooner than I did!
Yup, been there, had those thoughts, still do from time to time
Brighton~That Bear sure has good taste.
KC~Wasn’t that in a ketchup commercial?
I’m feeling a sea change coming on, one way or another it’s going to come soon.
Esther~I’m glad I’m not the only one…I always feel like a freak. That’s probably for other reasons, though.