There are a lot of epidemics presently “sweeping” ’round the world. We’ve got the serious (obesity, diabetes, failing healthcare systems) and the trendy (Miley Cyrus, One Direction, that Cups song courtesy of Anna Kendrick), but we’d like to point out an epidemic that’s just as deadly as your failing health and quite as crazy as Miley.
We call it the phenomenon of “Interesting People Doing Boring Crap.”
The visual…
- The woman with an endearing, Tina Fey-esque humor who works in your office. She runs marathons and loves reading memoirs by herself at her favorite hole-in-the-wall while drinking bloody marys on Sunday mornings. Her HR job is…fine. Comfortable, stable. Financially solid. But every time she thinks about writing her own memoir, she feels a little rush she can’t really explain.
- The 20-something dude who’s really busy. Like, really, importantly busy. “If I work THIS hard for THIS number of months/years then I’ll make THIS amount by THIS age,” he says. He’s working, working, working; climbing an invisible stairmaster with ferocious dexterity, and has never once thought to question why.
- The 33-year-old who’s really more of an 8-year-old at heart. She makes her own art and spends her lunch breaks scrolling through ETSY, imagine what she’d name her own shop. But that’s just a passing thought, really. It would be difficult, considering she averages 10+ hour days at her law firm, and usually goes into the office on Sundays, too. There’s just so much to do. One more brief. One more case. One more client.
Big, mournful sigh. Is your heart breaking a little? Mine is.
People are, on the whole, really beautiful. They have quirks and facets and so many intricacies that weave together…and it makes human beings really, really interesting (especially when you zoom in).
But so many beautiful people are spending their lives doing so much boring crap, and for reasons they’ve either never thought to question, or are actively trying not to question because they want to avoid an unpleasant identity crisis.
Is it worth it, though? Is burying your quirks, your secret hopes, your inner callings beneath a mountain of societally-stamped-and-approved busy work going to fulfill us?
Nope.
The HR job, the invisible stairmaster, the over-worked legal firm…they’re not invaluable, or inherently bad. But if any job is burying your beauty; if it’s making you dull and complacent and spiritually bored, then what’s the point?
Don’t waste your humanity on boring crap, please. Be brave enough to be interesting.
Much Love,
Kristen & Rachel
