The beautifully dressed, confident, petite woman sat at the table with the interviewer, smiling and poised as she was presented with questions concerning her career.  She had wanted to have a career in the arts, but was encouraged by her mother to pursue the sciences, and so she went to college, earned a degree in Psychology and began her pre-med degree.  Realizing that she just wasn’t passionate about the direction she had chosen, she went to graduate school for theater, focusing on costume design.

Some people might think that this alone was a waste of time, but she believes it’s important to try a lot of things to see what “sticks”.  For her, it was in the arts.  At one point in her story, she talks about taking a break and being a fitness instructor for awhile.  Another odd move, but as she explains, it worked for her at that time.  How refreshing to have someone who just does what they want to do depending on what they need at the time.

I was reading that Millennials tend to change jobs often, working their way up the ladder in a more “dog-legged” manner than Baby Boomers who tended to stay in one place for a long time “paying their dues”.  Or maybe not.  I was reading another article that said if you really research baby boomers, you’ll find they moved around as much as the millennials.  In my own life I’ve done everything from fast food to clerical work before getting into teaching.  I also worked at a t-shirt screening company and attempted to sell insurance.  I was pitiful.  But after earning my degree, I felt like I should be locked in to teaching music – I had found my career.  The problem is, I’m beginning to feel that Millennial feeling again.

How many times do we let common sense get in the way of what our hearts tell us we want to do?  Sometimes our gut tells us that it’s time to try something else or take a break, but our head begins the argument, with “common sense” winning out in the end.  Well, what if the woman at the beginning of our story had stayed in med school?  What if she hadn’t obtained a grad degree in theater?  Well, we wouldn’t have had a Tony award winning costume designer for Anastasia then, would we?  I’m sure it didn’t seem very practical at the time, but look what following your passion can get you!  I’m sure if she had continued to follow her original path, she would have been a fine doctor, but would she would have been as happy?

I’ve often said that I’m more of a hummingbird – I don’t settle on just one flower but go from flower to flower.  This had been the story of my working life, up until I began teaching.  So I  abandoned my usual instincts to follow my common sense and become more mature and practical.  The problem with practicality sometimes is that you can age yourself out of doing something else later.  Personally, I’m hoping that is not the case in my life.

So, I’m trying to think like a millennial and perhaps it’s time to look for the next flower for me to land on.  I’ve been practical for far too long.  Maybe my friends and colleagues will question my sanity,  but life it too short not to pursue MORE life.