I was reading an interview with Christy Turlington where she was quoted saying this: "I made a conscious choice to not be consumed by fashion". Last Friday, I conducted an interview with a very intelligent lecturer about how she spent her weekend. She has a theory that a false dichotomy exists between "work" and "life" to justify doing things that we don't enjoy doing for the sake of putting bread on the table. We justify upkeeping our lifestyles and pursuing our materialistic goals, we possibly justify selling out, we justify doing things now that we might never have seen ourselves doing, because it is "work", and it is not "life". We begin to think that we are only truly accountable for ourselves, that value systems only matter, that enjoyment is only allowed to kick in where "life" is concerned. Till the day we realise we've spent 80% of our lives being unhappy.

These ideas crystallize the thoughts that have been floating around in my mind even before I started work ten weeks ago. I have always wanted to do what I do, but I have always been aware (and afraid) of the person that this industry could turn me into. The good and the bad come hand in hand. I have told friends to tell me if somehow I end up getting sucked in without realising it. So maybe in a way, I am clear about what I want, and the limits that I have set out for myself. This is the conclusion the lecturer and I arrived at on Friday morning after an in-depth discussion: maybe at the end of the day it's not so much about that false dichotomy. Because let's face it, not everyone has the luxury to choose how they want to earn their dough. Not everyone has the opportunity to sit around during working hours, asking big questions over cafe lattes. It comes down to the idea of clarity. Are you clear about what you want in your life and how much you are willing to sacrifice to achieve that?

So back to the interview I was reading in the magazine. I leave off with some words from the editor, wise words that apply to all my friends who might be reading, no matter what stage of your life you're at. It's a reminder to us all that your head can be in the clouds, but your feet have always got to be firmly rooted on the ground.

"Don't expect every day to be a high-five, pay-raise, make-a-difference kind of day. There should be plenty of those--but sometimes work is just work. As the old saying goes: If work were that great, the rich would keep it for themselves!"

posted by beautiful at 1:37 am