When I started to tell people that I was coming here to brew they were thrilled for me. The one thing that I was told most often, I think, was that they were proud of me. While I really appreciate that I’ve earned their respect and that I’m a person to be proud of, I don’t want to be.
The main reason that people have said they are proud of me is because I am going to do what I love and want to do. To me, that doesn’t seem like grounds for them to be proud of me. I think it would be more appropriate if everyone were happy for me.
I don’t think that finding your passion is something that people should be proud of you for, but rather be happy for you. It isn’t something you have earned or been working on (well not directly) for a long time, it is something you stumbled on while living life. Sure I think it is an accomplishment to find your passion and it surely shapes the things you do in life but it isn’t anything to be proud of. We will all find it at some point, some sooner than later. I’m happy that I’ve found mine early and that I can get into it this early while others will spend years looking for it and may never find it. I get to travel to pursue it and work for a the company of my dreams but are you proud of me, or happy for me?
My best friend Michelle has wanted about 6 things over the past few years from med school to research and a ton of other things. I think the process is just as important as the result for most things in life. I think it is great to for her to realize that maybe med school isn’t the place for her. I don’t think it is since she isn’t a person who can purely memorize stuff like a (useless) robot. She needs to apply herself to something and you won’t find that as a doctor. If I were to guess, she will change the world in a big way, something doctors don’t do regularly. Especially if they are 9-5 ER doctors…. I’m proud of her for a number of reasons but never because she has found her passion. I’m proud of her for being smart, a great problem solver, an amazing lobster roll maker, a rock star pancake cooker (even the batter by herself now) let alone a great person and an even better friend.
Just for the record, I'm proud of you for being able to pick up your life and reinvent yourself on the other side of the world. That takes a really strong person to be able to do it. I'm not impressed, I'm not happy for you, I'm proud of the fact that you took a risk and uprooted yourself. Of course, its awesome that you're doing all this to pursue a job that you love, and for that, I'm very happy for you. :P
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to argue a bit! Hope you're doing as fabulous as it sounds.