Blowin' in the Wind

I'm not entirely sure where that phrase came from, but I assume it has something to do with the fact that working approximately 50% of your waking life eventually results in there being almost nothing left of 'you'. You have been turned into a corporate drone - you go to work, come home, eat dinner, go to bed, and on the weekends take a trip to Home Depot and probably Wal-Mart.

I don't want that. At all. As much as I love my job and the people I work with, I am afraid it will eventually do this to me. I am afraid all jobs will. I would really like to just tie dye a bunch of shirts and travel around to music festivals in a VW van, selling aforementioned t-shirts for $8 (cheaper than the $10 the van next to me is charging), and call that a living. Because to me, that IS living. Spending the majority of your life at a desk is NOT! The problem is, it's nearly impossible to actually live a personally fulfilling life and be able to pay any bills you might have to pay. Even if you live out of your VW van, you gotta put gas in it! This is so unfair. I imagine in Canada it's different. Or in any other country, probably. This promised land, the Land of Opportunity... What's the opportunity? You are presented with the chance to waste your life away doing something you're not passionate about, the chance to be mediocre. And really it's more of a necessity than an option. Oh boy!

This is made even more true by the fact that you can basically only get decent healthcare here if you have insurance. You can't have insurance unless you have a job, and often not even then. Then, if you ever want to retire, you better have a good 401k plan. Otherwise, prepare to start working right after you graduate, and do so until you die.

I don't know what made me so bitter all of a sudden about this, but I just don't understand the workings of society. People who don't have jobs are labeled as 'slackers', but perhaps they really just want to remain individuals and not turn into corporate zombies. Perhaps these jobless people should be what we aspire to be instead of people we think of as lesser, inferior beings.