Do what you love

I love this phrase: Do what you love. Love what you do.

Lately my parents keep pressuring me about "getting ahead" in life. They tell me that I should be looking for better options other than my current Caribou job. My dad makes a good point that if I "still haven't done anything" by the time I'm in my late twenties, everyone else my age will have master's degrees, working at much higher-paying jobs, and overall will have a better-looking resumé than I.

But there's a war going on inside of my heart. I want to be able to pay for rent, insurance, my car, living expenses--the usual things--but at what cost?

I feel like there are so many jobs out there that I could get, but I would be sitting at a desk all day, either answering phones or entering data into a computer. Why even bother living if that's what I do with 40 percent of my life?

I don't mean to criticize those who do have jobs that fit that description, it's just that I am much different. I have never been able to sit still. I've never been able to fit the mold of most working Americans because I've always made my own mold.

When I was an infant, my mom put me in one of those baby carriers and I somehow found a way to wiggle my way out of it. She also tried putting me in one of those automatic swinging chairs, but I held out my arm and grabbed the stand so it would stop.

I believe I am and will always be the same way for the rest of my life. I cannot "do what everyone else does." It's like a code that my body cannot read.

I love pouring lattes. I love moving around all day. I like having short-term tasks. I like to be really nit-picky and detail-oriented. I don't like doing the same thing every day. I simply cannot do it.

Someone once told me, "Your job shouldn't define who you are. It's just a way to pay the bills." But that's not good enough for me. Even if I were marginally satisfied at a job, I still wouldn't be pleased with myself.

As my parents have lived much longer than I and have a lot of wisdom, in their efforts to prevent me from loss, they have cloaked me with a veil of comfort and security. They tell me to do this and don't do that, but what they don't realize is that beyond their covering is a vibrant, unique individual who simply cannot be "protected" from the world with rules and instructions.

I would say that one of my main goals in life is to follow the phrase I mentioned above. I do not want to live my life according to the standards set by typical American society, or even the standards of the people whom I love. I simply want to do what I love and love what I do.