Big League

The Blue Jays have had a lot of injuries as of late - in particular to their starting rotation. As a result they have called up some fresh-faced youngsters from the minor leagues to fill in the considerable gaps. Thus far, things are going shockingly well [they just completed a sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies this afternoon]. Today the young man that started for them - he didn't do a fantastic job and left early on. This morning I was telling Joseph about this particular guy - he deferred signing with a major league team for several years until he had finished his degree in civil engineering. As a fan, I was concerned about this because it feels like he doesn't "want it" enough as he has something far too useful to fall back on [most professional athletes take communications or basketweaving in college and therefore are pretty dependent on making the bigtime]. It's a bit bizarre though - apparently he's said that civil engineering [in particular urban transportation issues] is his true passion. I think it's particularly odd because so many people work so hard to make it as a professional athlete. It's a total dream job and really, hardly anyone makes it to that level. Concrete and rail lines seem pretty dull in comparison - both in subject matter and pay scale.

But I'm always wondering about really following my passion. I feel like I know very few people who are actively living their dreams - in terms of career, at least. Don't get me wrong - I do know people who are happy with their career, but they don't really work in lofty professions - like professional sports or in the celebrity realm or in the "making six figures plus" arena. Of course, there's nothing wrong with being a blue collar or white collar hero. But, The Unemployed Elitist really has to question when exactly you give up on your dreams. I mean, I'm no longer persuing any of the occupations I thought would be great when I was a little kid [astronaut/cosmetic surgeon/lawyer/orthodontist/model/sports agent] and really - since I entered university I've had no clue where my true passion might lie. I've been a pretty big flake, I guess - but with one constant - I've always known that my career will be very important in shaping my identity and life. University opened up my eyes to so many different areas that I had never considered that I kinda went flying off in a million directions. I fell in love with art history after my very first course and every subsequent class only further cemented this passion. I also loved journalism - my year and a half in that course was one of the happiest times of my life. However, both of these so-called career paths have been big old duds. So when exactly does one bail out on your dreams and go for a standard office job working @ a bank or insurance company? Surely most of those people are not living their passion. And while I know that there are other aspects of life that can fill you up - family, outside work, friends, hobbies - a job that I love is so important to me that I just can't help but feel sorry for these people. I also understand that there are many factors that contribute to getting a "just a job" type of job - sometimes you need money. I'm lucky that even though I'm doing some pretty serious floundering right now career-wise, I have the opportunity to pursue my passion...until I go crazy and get a job @ Dufferin Mall to avoid going completely bananas @ home.