Reflecting on our class of February 12th, there were several things that came to mind about careers and the choices and sacrifices that we make for them. The alumnus who came to speak with us made a few statements that really got me thinking about these choices. To quote, he said, “Part of the work-life balance is trying to figure out where ‘home’ is” and “You give a piece of yourself, but you leave a piece of yourself. Everywhere.”
I feel that being at such a large university that is internationally connected, many of us students aspire to careers in far-flung regions of the world, or careers linked to international organizations with the hope of being able to travel with our work. Perhaps this impression comes in part from being a GRS student? I don’t know. But what I do know, is that for many people, the choice between life and work can be a difficult one to make. It seems as though there should be a happy medium – a balance that one could strike between the two, but often it seems to be presented in life as either or, not both. Work is so much a part of our lives – indeed for most of us it is our life. In some ways this isn’t a bad thing, so long as you enjoy what you are doing. I do believe that it is of the utmost importance to love your job. Not just to feel somewhat ambivalent about it, to be ok with it, or think it’s alright – but to really love it. Because no matter what, there will be bad days. In addition, working a minimum of 8 hours a day, five days a week, 49 weeks a year for forty years, in my opinion you better be enjoying work, because, like it or not, it is your life. Work tends to define and shape our lives, like it or not. I suppose that’s why a lot of us are at university – with the hopes of being able to find a job we enjoy at the end of it. Or perhaps just to find one with a paycheque that seems to make it all worthwhile. But I would argue that no matter how much compensation you’re getting, with a ratio of 120:1960 (hours off vs. hours worked in a year), you’re better off doing something you love.
It sounded to me as though our guest speaker truly loved his work, despite some misgivings about where “home” was for him, and it was inspiring to hear someone speak about their life’s work with such passion.