A new career every Monday

"So what do you want to be when you grow up darling?" "I want to be a painter, no wait an air-hostess, also an engineer just like daddy, actually I want to be an architect, but only if I can't be a fashion designer". It sounded cute when I was a little girl twirling while announcing my 'dreams' in my floral dress and red shoes. Now I get a scornful look even if I so much as whisper it to someone. So I've stopped sharing it with people. But that hasn't stopped me from feeling that way.

I've been liberally showered with labels by peeps around me all my life. 'Fickle-minded' is what all the terms gradually gravitate towards. And I couldn't agree more ;) My life cycle of a side activity starts with it being a hobby, then it grows into an obsession, peaks out and before I know it, it's out of my life. No matter what I do, I just can't seem to stick it out. Yes I've worked at the same place for over 3 and a half years now (!!!) but my hobbies have gone through major contractions.

There's pros and cons both to this attitude and behavior, or weakness as my mom calls it ;) The pros are that it allows me to break free from the stereotype, allows me to experiment with a range of things, always gives me a fresh perspective on life and brings the excitement that goes with anything new. The cons are that no matter how good or bad, it's always fleeting.

India, until a decade ago, had no concept more than a single career. In fact my parents generation started their careers and ended with the same company (how supremely boring), let alone switching careers. And then there were always these handful people who were a jack of all who were good at a multitude of things and I always wanted to be one of them. In the west thankfully, life is a little more flexible. They say an average career lasts about a decade here. That gives you a chance to experiment with four different ones, give or take. But there are a huge set of issues if you wanna try out a newly acquired hobby as a career: not a strong foundation, not enough experience, not enough technique and so on... it's unreal.

Only if I lived in a world where freelancers were the order of the day, I'd be stoked :)