Two months ago, I returned to a friend's (actually 2 friends) wedding. It was a reunion with my former co-op / intern buddies after the move out to Atlanta. Many of the guys I remember drinking beers with in T-shirts are now putting on suits and heading to work every morning.
Is this scary? No. Not at first.
But still, somewhere at the beginning, back when you're a kid, you never picture yourself grudgingly waking up every morning at 6:30 to work for a company because it pays you. You picture grander things, like maybe being a revered employee, championed by your bosses, and carried swiftly to upper management, while spending evenings about town, having "beer-commercial"-like parties.
Snap out of it.
Then you suddenly come to, and find yourself at Sam's club with your wife on a Wednesday night buying food in bulk because you're out of Splenda. You're happy to make it to bed before 10:00 because that guarantees 8 hours of sleep, which has become more important since college. Your friends are beginning to settle into routines, and evenings out are getting less frequent since they had the baby.
The one consistency through mediocrity and success is a steady diet of watered American lagers.
In a matter of time, you'll join them.
I'm starting to wonder what I should be snapping out of - the idealistic world of fun and success, or the reality of pragmatism and routine. Everything seemed a lot more freewheeling when I didn't shave and I had more freetime for hangovers and video games.
Is this what mediocrity is all about?
It's a definite shocker to realize that your job is not a definition of you anymore, nor is life going to come rolling out red carpets for the great and wonderful you. It's amazing to find out that you're not as likable and funny as all your friends thought you were back home, or that you're just another "schmuck" in someone else's routine.
I know, kinda grim, but it's only a half truth from the way I'm starting to see it.
I mean, even the greats we looked up to as kids weren't all that much bigger than life. Neil Armstrong was probably a nondescript average Joe until his foot changed history. The biggest difference between any movie star and the typical person really comes down to a camera, if you think about it. And, generally all the great scientists of our time are just furthering the research and work of many hardworking scientists and researchers before them. Like Isaac Newton said, there are few lone wolves, just a lot of folks that stand "on the shoulders of giants."
So the truth is, kids...
There isn't an answer to the idea of living a life less thrilling then you had mapped out back in the second grade. You're gonna end up at IKEA,sifting through weird Norwegian knickknacks, telling you wife how you like or dislike her choice in scented candles. And it's OK. Apparently, this sh-t is a part of life. So, don't be so shocked when it happens. It's not in the movies for a reason. It you're taste of what compliments the spice and fun in life - routine, and trinket shopping.
I mean, think about it: how many movies glorify any part of life between college and that successful Wall Street job? How many sitcoms include a witty cast of characters... who work 9 hour work days - asidefrom "work-at-home" interior designers and trendy Manhattan law firms? You ever revel over a novel about a meat distributor who needs to take his mini-van in for repairs on it's catalytic converter?
