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The Perfect Job is an Illusion
The the best jobs are the ones that make it possible to live your life
About two years before my daughter Ana died, she became obsessed with the U.S. adaptation of The Office. She was about 14 years old at the time, but she loved the show. She blew through season after season for weeks by the time she approached me and declared that she was having an existential crisis.
Ana had watched eight years of The Office in a mere three months. During that time, she had seen one of its main characters, Pam, morph from a single receptionist to a married sales associate.
Our conversation went something like this.
“She’s still there — at a paper company. I mean, it seems so boring and pointless.”
“It’s just a show.”
“You used to work in an office. Is it really like that?”
“Yes, sometimes. Especially when you’re first starting out. But it’s good to get that experience and move on.”
“But Pam didn’t move on.”
“No, some people don’t.”
“You did.”
“I had to. I got laid off and started freelancing. Otherwise I’d be stuck in an office job just like Pam.”
