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“Do what you love”
The self-help maxim that I’ve seen over and over again
It seems so simple.
Some people say that doing what you love means you’ll never have to work a day in your life.
It’s not true, though.
Aspirations and dreams don’t always put food on the table or money in the bank.
People who are free to pursue what they love often have a safety net. Not everyone gets the privilege to do what they love for a living. I know I can’t make a living as a writer or an artist, so I’ve decided to try to pursue another career path and do what I love on the side.
Maybe that’s all I can do for now. And that’s okay, too.
The difficult part is doing what I love when I’m losing my love for life.
Andrew Solomon once said that depression was the absence of vitality.
How do you do what you love when you no longer love or enjoy what you used to do?
I’m scrambling to pick up my old hobbies again. My dad said doodling is supposed to be therapeutic, so I force myself to pick up the pencil and start drawing before I spiral again.
Maybe one day I could count on these hobbies for a living.
Until then, I’ll just have to do my best to do the things I don’t always love to make the money I need to survive.