Warning: Random, probable nonsensical ramblings below. I’m feeling too lazy to edit it into something cohesive and comprehensible.
While Brent and I were installing a stereo in his car yesterday our roommate Jordan came and went about four times in the space of about four hours. He was bored and couldn’t find anything to do, so he kept hopping on his motorcycle driving around looking for something to do. I don’t think he ever found anything.
I realize all of us get stir crazy and experience boredom from time to time, but it seems like it happens way too often.
How can we get bored so frequently when are so many things that we can do? So many things to learn, so many hobbies we could take up. I can’t find enough hours in a day to do everything I’d like to do yet some people can’t find enough things to do to fill in the hours of the day.
Conversely, I find it sad that most people these days get to a point where they are done with school and are starting their careers before they even know what they like to do. It seems like nobody has hobbies any more! And nobody is prepared to make decisions on what they’d like to do for their career.
Are we as a society trying to fit too many things we think are important into our time that we don’t have time to do things that may not seem important, but really might be in the long term? Don’t we need to take some time and find something we enjoy doing instead of something we need to do? Shouldn’t we cut down on the so-called important things that aren’t so important, and do more to make sure we enjoy life a little? Isn’t life too short for us to spend it doing nothing more than school work and our jobs?
A hundred years ago everybody had to farm for their food, make anything that they needed around the house, even build their own homes. Today we don’t have to fill our time with any of those activities, and as a result we should have more time on our hands, but it’s become filled with trivial activities. Are those sporting events and television shows really as essential as we think they are?
An awful lot of the people I know spend/t so much time with school, homework, and the extracurricular activities that they felt had to be done in order to get into a good college that they haven’t taken the time to experiment with different activities to actually find out what they enjoy doing. Then when it comes time to decide on a career they have no idea what to do because they haven’t experienced anything in life other than mindless busy work. Then when they actually have down time they have no idea what to do with themselves… boredom.
I was lucky I guess. I knew by the time I was 7 or 8 what I enjoyed doing, and what I wanted to do for a career. And those are the things that I’m doing today… computers, photography, audio, video, electronics, and engineering and building different gadgets. No matter how busy I am I always have something I could do that I enjoy doing.
So, aside from work and school, what do you actually like to do?
4 comments:
I think this is the epic life struggle. We are too busy. Too much is going on. I don't know much about boredom at this stage in my life with 3 kids and one on the way...but I did experience not knowing what career path to follow in college. I think our society do better to introduce kids to different types of jobs earlier on--like in high school--so kids might have some idea of what they are doing. Another thing that baffles me is the amount of people who study majors that don't lead to decent jobs so they can survive the rest of their lives--don't they think about that ahead of time? It is hard to know what your career will truly be like until you are experiencing it. I think you definitely are on to something though.
I do have a hobby now that I love. It took me a long time to find but it is perfect for me--card making. I like to be a little bit creative and be able to do my hobby from home on my own in the little breaks of time that I can manage to find now and again. So it works great for me. Not likely to turn into any money making project...but that doesn't matter.
I love to read read read. The other day we took Elijah to this amazing park in PG and I had to laugh when we walked by this little girl who was using the last rays of sunlight to try and finish her book. That was so me, every other kid was running and playing and I was so engrossed in what I was reading, I was utterly oblivious. I think I've learned a little moderation, but I still find time to read at least two good books a month. As far as careers go, I was a Humanities major, so I never figured out the enjoyable/marketable thing. :)
Very insightful. I like to read. And I like to do crafty things - sew, scrapbook, decorate cakes. :) And they aren't things that can provide me a career, but I agree that hobbies are important.
I have heard of this happening to a lot of people. They still are unsure of passions and career paths even after college. Very cool that you were tinkering with computers and cameras at the early age of 7!
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