Improbable Madness

Remember when we all had to take those surveys in elementary school that asked about our likes and dislikes and based off of the results it would supposedly predict our future career?  I don't think making plastic in a factory was even a possible result of the test I took.  Well... here I am, 24 years old, turning 25 in a little over 4 months and making plastic 15 days a month. 

I wake up at 4:45am, take a shower; not to get clean but to wake up, eat a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, watch 10 minutes of Sports Center and then drive across town and make absolutely enormous rolls of plastic.  I then drive home after 12 hours of work, and at this time of year I haven't seen the sun since it's set before I get off, and walk up three flights of stairs to my apartment that's on the second floor.

Anyone else have this as an option on their career prediction test?  I honestly didn't know there was a need in a year for as much plastic as I make in a single day.  I often find myself wondering where it all goes once the companies who buy it are through using it...  but that's a topic for another day.  Personally my test said I would make a great Veterinarian.  

It would seem that the test failed... I disagree.  Because of my test, I went to school and had aspirations of going to Vet school.  I met a lot of great people, some of who may or may not be reading this now, and I learned a lot about myself and who I am.  I worked full time while in college and gained an incredibly strong work ethic.  I realized I didn't HAVE to have a piece of paper to tell me I was a success. 

There were a few steps in between, some of which maybe we'll talk about one day, but all that matters is I wouldn't change my life now for the entire world.  Every morning I get to see a time that I truly believe some people believe doesn't exist.  I get to watch the newest edition of Sports Center before anyone else that day.  I eat Honey Nut Cheerios and keep my cholesterol down (according to GM).  But best of all I wake up to the love of my life every day.

I always had the dream of working in the field of science, not in a factory.  I was led to believe that without a science degree this would be impossible.  I would like someone to tell me how to turn a box of 1cm plastic pellets into 110,000 foot rolls of plastic in an 8 hour time limit.  Science. 

I work 12 hour days, I only work 15 days a month.  I work for a great company and I can pay my bills. I come home to a loving fiancé, an incredibly amazing dog, a warm home, and comfortable bed.  Every other week I get three day weekends, and I live in a state where I can hunt just about anything there is to hunt.  I love art and when I come home, my apartment is apparently the real life version of a M. C. Escher painting.

I saw a picture of a child in Africa that I only clicked on because I truly thought we had found aliens.  It was so malnourished that it was basically a little skeleton with skin around it.  Unfortunately this still isn't uncommon in today's world.  I don't say this to be extreme, I say it to make a point.  There are so many people out there who really do have it rough.  It's sad but it's a fact of life.

It's time for me to take a step back and look at my life in a broader scope and take it in for what it really is.  I have only recently realized how lucky I am.  I have decided to focus on health and vitality in order to live a long and fulfilling life and enjoy every minute of it.  I will be starting to train for my first triathlon which will be this coming year.  I have set a major goal for myself and it is to attempt my first Iron Man by my 30th birthday.  This is what I will talk about in my next blog.  It's time to get out there and take risks and LIVE LIFE!

We all can, and probably do, go into life expecting to be Veterinarians.  The truth is, some of us are going to come out making plastic.  Those plastic makers may very well end up being happier than any Veterinarian out there; and that my friends is why I look at life as Improbable Madness.