Recently, I finished reading The Tender Bar. Great memoir. If you haven't had a chance to read it, go grab it. However, there was a part in it that I found especially poignant. As a teenager trying to get into Yale, the main character is warned by two older co-workers that fear of not being excepted is not the real problem, disillusionment is.
Of course, being 17 he thinks the future will be paved with nothing but glorious successes, so why he thinks, would that be an issue. I thought this was so interesting. I remember thinking that way. I also now know what the co-workers were talking about. As a student you see the yellow brick road, it leads to only one place, Nirvana. After the delayed gratification of a degree you figure there is no where to go but up. Then something happens on the way. Part of the road has been pulled up to build condos, there are misleading forks that take you into dark and scary forests, and often you find you just might not be wearing the best shoes for the journey. This thought usually occurs about halfway to the Emerald City. And suddenly, you wonder if it was really the Emerald City you wanted to go to. Why not stay in Munchkin Land? They seem happy after all. Do you want to spend all your time on the road, when it would be nice to get off once and a while and hang out at the pub with others? Suddenly, you realize everything is a choice, and there are no sign posts telling you how far you are from Nirvana. Maybe it is just better to make your own, if you can.
1 comment:
Ha! Remember when you thought that making $50,000.00 a year would ensure you stayed out of the KD row at the supermarket?? Sigh...when does that happen. Or how about the fact that I know look at potential lovers/relationships for their DOUBLE INCOME potential! Now that's romantic!
Post a Comment