Now spring break is over; the weather is warming, and we have only eight more weeks until we are free again. For some, graduation approaches. For others, summer is just going to be another sweaty hiatus spent toiling at Olive Garden.
But one way or the other, it’s the future. And though I quiver at the thought of my own graduation, not quite knowing how to move my piece down the game of life, I am elated by the idea of seeing and feeling that future.
A lot of my ambitions for said future revolve around the global art economy. I would very much like to occupy a curatorial-type role when I’m older, posing social questions for innovators of music and art to answer.
To get a better idea of how systems like that can work, I went to Texas last week for South by Southwest, (also known as SXSWXSCSSSW) a big orgiastic gathering of music and film industry professionals and arrogant hiplets.
It was wonderful: I got to see tons of my favorite artists for free or close to free. I felt the humanity of the things that I had previously only seen on the Internet — I got punched in the face at Odd Future and took shots with Skrillex. Talib Kweli, like, projectile sweated on me.
The sheer scope of the conference amazed me. Seeing so many devoted people congregate around the art reassured me that there is a future in being a curator or promoter of that type of world, which was the exact kind of reassurance I needed. Prior to the trip I was of the opinion that the music industry was crippled or just plain dead, that art was not something one could build a career off anymore. But there are insane amounts of money involved — some people get to do all that fun stuff as their job, and some of them get compensated handsomely.
I certainly don’t intend to cheapen the true value of art and music, which is spiritual. But let’s be honest — better to be paid than not paid. And best to be paid for something you love doing.
So I’ve come back from that experience refreshed, with wider eyes and a bigger appetite. I’m optimistic, but trying to stay realistic about what’s next. For all of you reading who are about to graduate, I’m sure you’ll echo the sentiment.
Our education was intended to provide us with the skills to find a career we love, but what if it’s not possible to find that? We may have to bitch out to a clerical job at a graveyard or something. Many of us, including myself, will graduate well indebted to Sallie Mae and all her flying monkeys, but there’s no reason to let that scare the living hell out of me every night while I shiver and weep looking at my loan statements.
Regardless of the responsibilities that lie ahead, I’m sure the most intelligent thing to do is to follow your truest desire. As many have said, follow your dream. The money will come later. And then a beautiful child will come into your life and take that money. The cycle stays the same, but as long as you’re happy, you’re doing the right thing.
Which is why I fully intend to follow my wildest dreams, regardless of how impractical and dangerous they may seem now. I can’t stand the thought of playing it safe, middle-managing a cracker factory and paying off my loans in sensible increments. While it may come to that, and my reckless idealism may screw me, at least I will have tried. And then I can have the joy of reminding my children how much they don’t know about life while I fight back tears of regret.
But that premise shows how much I don’t know about life yet: I think it’s possible to be completely happy whether or not you “achieve your dream.” Really, who knows what could happen? New ideas and dreams are born everyday, and they can change throughout the course of one’s life to the point that your former self is unrecognizable to your present. So even if I’m not headlining Coachella and cradling Oscars in my burly, toned arms, I could still be the happiest man alive.
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Which is an important thing to remember: Our dream is usually our finest vision of ourselves. If we love ourselves fully now, the dream becomes irrelevant. Just continuing life is the dream. And that’s some straight gangster wisdom.
So don’t anxiously await a future that may or may not come: Soak up the experiences and flavors of a rich life now, and remember that toiling even at Olive Garden has its advantages.
Like free bread sticks.
