When Your Dream Job Just Isn’t Your Reality
Struggling through a tedious 9 to 5 is valuable — but not in the way you might think
I reconnected with a college buddy of mine a few weeks ago for the first time in almost 10 years. I found him on LinkedIn one day: Jeff, with his scruffy beard and longish hair. “Writer at Motorcycle Group,” his profile read.
What? Jeff? A writer for a motorcycle company?
We’d been English majors together back in 2008, nerding out on our favorite poets and essayists. I sent him a message.
It was true. That was his gig. “Dude, no lie. I travel the world to test ride all these bikes and then get paid to write about them for Cycle World! Most days I still can’t believe it—it’s pretty sweet, for sure, man!”
I offered my congratulations, poking fun at him about how truly unjust our world must be if he could weasel his way into such cushy employment. I couldn’t believe it. I read a couple of his recent articles. They were good. No, they were damn good—so much better than anything I’ve written. His turns of phrase, his unexpected insights about the particulars of each motorcycle, captivated me. After 800 words, I was ready to buy a Triumph Bonneville because it was a “custom heartbreaker” with iconic Britishness and lovable…
