The Ways We Are: Maria
Maria has many hobbies and interests and especially is into Tae Kwon Do. We were guest bloggers in a “Tough Girl” series about martial arts together for one of our blog friends. And she has something I aspire to have: a black belt! Read on for Maria’s take on career and identity. I couldn’t relate more!.
I couldn’t agree more with Floreta that growing up and finding a job is just being who we are, not what we want to be.
When I was a kid I used to play with my best friend Danny on his swing set. We’d sit side by side on the swings and while we pumped our legs to get our momentum going, we would laugh and scream out all the things we would be when we grew up.
“Cop”
“Veterinarian”
“Teacher”
“Writer”
“Movie Star”
“Singer”
“Paramedic” (though I think we called it ambulance person)
The truth is I really did want to be all those things. I thought I’d love working and I could do multiple jobs in a day. It was idealistic, but looking back I realize that I am meant to be a jack of all trades, master of none.
My attention span is limited. I want my job to be exciting and be constantly learning. It’s hard to find a job that lets me do this. I think I’ll spend most of my life discovering new things. If this means never getting to be CEO or Director, I’m ok with that.
I’m not ambitious in the sense I need to make 6 figures a year. Of course it would be nice, but it’s not a necessity. I truly believe in working to live, not living to work.
I don’t have just one passion. I have a million passions that surface at one time or another. Sometimes it’s multiple things at once, other times it’s one thing until it fades into another.
I’ll never be a professional anything. I’ll be an amateur until that job bores me and I will move onto the next thing. I’m still calling out things I can still possibly be.
And I take no shame in that.
This post is part of a series on personal development, career and identity. It’s not about who you want to be when you grow up, but being who you ARE. The key is to find out your true calling and passions and then figuring out how to live it. We all have stories to share, and I want to hear yours. If you’d like to guest blog for the Panda, please submit to floreta@solitarypanda.com.
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10 Responses to “The Ways We Are: Maria”
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How interesting! See, I took the opposite approach: I saw my dad doing too many things (architecture, printing, newspaper publishing) and being good but not great at them. And working WAY too hard. But he loved it, just like you say you do. I, on the other hand, want to be great at one thing (writing), so I put aside my other passions as hobbies, because writing is what I love best.
Just goes to show that everyone is different and you really do have to figure out what’s right for you as an individual!
.-= Kristan´s last blog ..Snippets: Get it? =-.
Kristan – Sometimes I wish I could be really good at just one thing, but the truth is my attention span is tiny.
Which is why I got a degree in journalism because it seemed like a good area to learn about a lot of different things at one time.
.-= maria´s last blog ..my life, out of the box =-.
I’m the same way, so its tough to find a career best suited for me. I don’t have ONE passion, ONE driving force. I like a whole lot of things a good enough amount that I can’t decide, lol. I also have a tendency to have the most passion in things that blatantly won’t pay the mortgage. Doh!
.-= Brittney´s last blog ..About Damn Time, Friday. =-.
all the good/interesting things never pay the mortgage!
.-= maria´s last blog ..my life, out of the box =-.
Why can’t we be a master at many things?
I hear ya… I’m not sure I can stay in one place too long, although my 8.5 years at The Restaurant say otherwise huh? I actually really loved that job. To me, some of the best jobs are the ones that don’t pay much :-/ I don’t need the 6-figure check either, but as long as I can live comfortably, I’m cool with that 
i’m with you, all i want is to be able to live comfortably. i don’t need a huge house or lots of expensive things. after 5 years on a job i get antsy.
.-= maria´s last blog ..my life, out of the box =-.
I like your mindset. The idea of the “renaissance man” is coming back. That is, a master of many things.
.-= Keith´s last blog ..5 Guilty Travel Thoughts and How to Defeat Them =-.
i hope so!
.-= maria´s last blog ..my life, out of the box =-.
I’m definitely one of those people who is pretty good at a bunch of things. There are so many people who tell me I need to get better, be more ambitious, specialize so I can make one into a career. But I like running a wide gamit. Now, if only I can figure out how to do it all and still get paid!
if you figure it out let me know the secret!
.-= maria´s last blog ..Honolulu by Alan Brennert =-.