of hurting and growing

And who says that the television is an idiot box?

Perhaps one of the most insightful thoughts I've heard in recent years came from an episode of Joan of Arcadia: you have to accept that growing up means accepting the possibility of hurting other people and in fact, through life, even if in your heart of hearts you refuse to inflict harm - be it physical or emotional - on others, sometimes you just have to.

My Dream Job

I want a job that makes me cry, a job that moves me to tears not because some wretched know-it-alls make each working day a drudgery but because that job moves me to the point that every task and accomplishment imparts a sense of pride and hope.

I want a job that makes me feel small, a job that makes me feel as if I'm forever relegated to the background not because some ass-kissers or inept bosses take credit for my work but because that job makes me realize that I'm working for something much bigger than me, that every single second working is a step closer to something greater than the petty squabbles of self-promotion.

I want a job that makes me work until the wee hours of the morning, a job that pushes me to work beyond the prescribed hours not because the tasks are tedious or because I'm given unreasonable deadlines but because that job inspires me to think of time as a finite resource one can never have enough of, a job that makes me feel alive despite the lack of sleep or the lack of rest.

I want a job that makes me feel inadequate, a job that makes me realize how much I don't know not because I was improperly briefed or trained but because each day in that job opens vast opportunities for learning and growth.

I want to find my passion, my vocation. A job that will allow me to make a difference in myself and in other people's lives. I don't want to feel trapped in doing something considered moot and academic. Scholarship is important but I want to move beyond it and delve into practice. Ideas are powerful, they inspire. But ultimately, it is what you do with what you know that counts.

I want to find the inspiration to think and the opportunities to make such ideas truly revolutionary.