"If Work was supposed to be Fun, they’d call it something else."
(Since it's Monday...I thought this post would fit best...Sorry for bouncing around. I'm processing Dad's death and all the childhood stuff comes up too. )
This quote from my
father is burned on my brain. When I got up the courage to tell him I wanted to
write for a living, that’s what I was told. Work isn’t supposed to be fun.
People who get to do what they love are just lucky. More people end up waiting
tables in Hollywood because they want their dream.
Work isn’t fun.
Work is about making money. I was told to major in something that’ll support
me.
What is that telling
me? At 16…I was told your life is going to suck. You won’t succeed as a writer.
Dreams don’t come true….no matter how hard you work. Just give up and pick a
job that’ll pay enough. Get financial security and be happy with that.
Really?? Yep…That
whole conversation is stuck in my head. Oh sure, I could teach English or write
for a newspaper. But novels? Writing fiction? Be a teacher…not much money but
it’s a steady job....that was Dad's compromise.
I didn’t want to
be a teacher (sorry, too much of an introvert back then to contemplate public speaking). Truly, I wanted to write. That was all.
But he really wanted me and my sister to be
nurses. The problem is I don’t like blood and I'm not super great at reading people.
He came up with accountant because every business
needs one. I hated it. But I did it so he couldn’t make comments at me all the
time when I hadn’t sold a book yet. I had a job, I paid my bills, and I wrote on the side.
Guess what my
sister is?
Right: Nurse (and she's very good at it and good with people...he wasn't always wrong).
I quit accounting
in 2011…Now I’m a writer. Now to make it all work!
