<p>This essay has nothing to do with the University and is only marginally about college, but I think it’s a worthwhile read for all of you <em>points at freaked-out high school juniors and seniors</em></p>
<p>This essay was written well after I sent in my deposit to Chicago, but after reading it over, I’m surprised how much of what Graham wrote was in my head (in a much less articulate form) when I was thinking about what I wanted out of my college experience.</p>
<p>unalove
thank you for posting this. I hope it gets LOTS of thoughtful reads. I like to think that my H and I (who have each had several career and life reinventions in the course of our full and satisfying lives) have been good illustrations for our kids (I hesitate to say “examples”) of the rewards of doing what you love. We are not the most affluent family around, and we have emphatically not made life decisions with the bottom line as our main priority. But in personal/life/spiritual satisfaction, we find ourselves at mid-life with work we love and few regrets about the paths not taken. It’s our best wish for our children.</p>
<p>Another related axiom: “Do what you love and the money will follow.” has been true for us, and I think is in reach of many more people than pause to give it thoughtful consideration.</p>
<p>“Do what you love” is an important lesson for parents to teach their kids. My dad repeated this constantly, and sometimes I hated him for doing what he loved, because he sacrificed most everything else in exchange, including spending time with us. However, now he is over 70, still working 7 days a week/10+ hours a day, with a mind that is as alive as it ever was, and I think that he made the right choice both for him and us, because one could not help but take the lesson to heart.</p>
<p>An important related lesson is “Mind your own business, in the long run you get at least as much as you put in”. Don’t worry whether you work more than your office mate and get paid the same. Sooner or later somebody will notice and correct the situation. And if you love what you do, you will not have time to pay attention to what anyone else is doing.</p>