Images from cascadestudios.com and kysis.edu.my

When I was in grade two I wanted to be a rock star. I had just started playing guitar, and I thought I had the skills to make it big. I told my dad one night about this aspiration, and he gave me some advice I will never forget. He posed, “If playing guitar is your job, what are you going to do for fun?” As a seven year old, I struggled with this concept. I wondered, why can’t work be fun? I understand now what he meant. Unfortunately, no matter what you do, work will always be stressful. Why would I take the thing I love, my escape, and make it stressful?

As I grew older, I was bombarded with an endless stream of advice all saying the same thing: “do what you love.” Maybe it’s because my dreams were crushed at an early age, but this message never made sense to me. By this time, I had already decided I wanted to go to business school. Did I love business? No, of course not. Did I think it would be a good fit for me? Yes, I certainly did.

I recently read a blog post by Penelope Trunk that humorously expressed my thoughts on this topic. She advices her readers to do what they are, not what they love (Trunk, 2007).

Now, why am I talking about this? What does this have to do with COMM 101? As an introductory course, we’ve spent considerable time discussing the different majors and programs offered here at Sauder. I believe the goal is to help students decide which fields interest them, and what they wish to peruse. If so, congratulations! I’d like to take this time to officially announce that I plan to major in accounting. Yes, you read that right. Do I have a passion for accounting? Sorry Jeff, but no. Do I think it will be a good fit for me? Yes, I certainly do.