*Preface: My father is not an alcoholic, let me know if it comes off as such. The mention of alcohol is meant to emphasize the magnitude of the stress.
My father walks through the front door, shoulders hunched as he trudges into the house. The clock strikes eight, the last rays of sun long since departed. Ice clinks into a glass as he pours the final drops of bourbon out of a bottle. He slouches onto the couch and for what seems like an eternity does not speak. As the glass empties, over time the dejected demeanor he possesses evolves into that of relaxation as the suffocating stress of his job is removed by the liquid.
Suddenly, he picks himself up from the couch and moves towards the kitchen. The hopelessness in his eyes replaced by a passion rarely seen. The stove is flicked on and water bubbles begin to form as it reaches a boil. The smell of spices inundate the kitchen as my father swiftly moves around the kitchen; an artist practicing his craft. For a while a look of satisfaction and happiness touches the normally desolate features of his face.
Finally, he calls my mother and myself into the kitchen to enjoy the masterpiece that he prepared. The food is the quality one would see out of a five-star restaurant. Elegantly prepared and aesthetically pleasing on the plate. Nothing is overcooked, and the contrasting flavors meld into one that is exponentially higher than the sum of their parts. This is my father’s passion.
Yet…He continues the drudgery that is his job. His pay is excellent and he has a prestigious position within the company…He despises it… He always says how he’s going to start a restaurant and be a head chef, yet he makes excuses because the pay of his current job is so great. He kills himself doing something he hates.
Yet, he is not an outlier in a world of those who follow their passion. His situation is the norm across the world, as people do jobs they despise simply for the sake of money. My realization of this fact came when I read a quote on some random internet forum. It was a reference meant to be comedic. Yet this quote made me rethink much of my outlook on life…”Die doing what you love”…In this, I believe.