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A Terrifying Realization From Working a Year at a Nursing Home
Do you risk postponing what you love?
In the fall of 2019, I tried to make it as a full-time writer. Half a year later, I was broke; self-employment ruined me.
The money had burned faster than imagined, and I desperately needed a way to pay the bills. I didn’t want to give up too much of my time, however, because writing was what I set out to do. Something like a part-time job would be ideal, allowing me just enough freedom to continue tasting the writer’s lifestyle.
I applied for several jobs, and was eventually hired at a nursing home. Upon mentioned this to others, many implied I could learn a lot from the residents, them having a lot of life-experience and all. While I hadn’t given it much thought myself, I believed it to be true.
As I continued to work there (enjoying it more than I thought I would), I kept that idea in my mind. And sure enough, from some of the residents, I learned little nuggets of wisdom. However, my biggest lesson didn’t come from any resident in particular, but it came from observing the collective fate: dementia.
Most of the residents had it bad — memory-loss, speech-impairment, disorientation. Now, while seeing it in the older residents was unfortunate enough, seeing it in the younger ones scared me. To my core.
So, working there for little over a year now, my biggest realization is a terrifying one: No one is promised tomorrow, so do what you love today.
Learning this, it cemented my desire for self-employment. Now, more than ever, I know I have to continue — work part time to pay the bills, but never lose sight of the dream: spending most of my time doing what I love.
Because imagine you have a job you don’t really enjoy, but you push through because you justify your efforts with the idea of retirement. But what if a couple of weeks into retirement you start to develop dementia?
Fuck. It could happen. I’ve seen it. You’ve waited your whole life to live your dreams, only to have it fade away the moment it begins. Do you take that risk? Do you risk postponing what you love?
Even if you can’t spend 100% of your time doing what you love, you should strive to do it as much as possible. Because in the end, freedom, self-employment, whatever you want to call it, is living a life you love. While some people find it in traditional careers, others, like me, need to break free of it. But whatever you do, make sure you love the crap out of it.
No one is promised tomorrow; do what you love today.
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