One Of A Million

   I was taught growing up that it is better to learn a trade, or earn a degree in a mainstream line of work. It was good advice, and I adhered to it closely. After high school I worked for a year, then started college. At the time, I was hell bent on making it back to my home in Colorado. I had been fixated on that for almost five years by then. My homesickness got the better of me though, and I decided to leave school behind for the Rockies.
   I made it back there for nine months (the plan was to stay for the Summer) with my new bride, and the trip had it's ups and downs, but as Autumn descended, my Southern wife insisted she was going home, with or without me. I went. I knew going into the trip that you should never try to take a Southern girl to a cold climate, and make her pretend to be happy. It just doesn't work.
   When we came back -with child- I had to make a move toward a new career. I was fortunate enough to have a brother-in-law who was an ironworker, employed by a local contractor at the paper mill. That Winter was horrible and wonderful for me. Being in the "elements" every day is tough even for someone who loves to be outside. The great part was that I was learning a craft that could feed my new family; just like I was taught.
   That job turned into a twelve year career that afforded me both money and travel. I made it from third class helper to business owner during that time. If that is not American, I don't know what it means. The point is that there are jobs in this country, but you have to want the job first. Construction trades will never go away; there is only so much a robot can do, and they certainly cannot hang iron.
   During my teen years through to the present, I had something burning inside me. It is the part of me that is an artist. For years I suppressed it, hearing my dad's words about how you have a one in a million shot at "making it" in any artistic line of work. For me, that meant that the music I had been taught, the media art I had been practicing, and most of all my writing that I loved so much could be no more than a hobby. Eventually, I couldn't ignore who I was any more. I had to change the course of my life to do what I was made to do.
   I figuratively wadded up and threw away the idea that it was not possible to make it in the arts. I decided that I would no longer fall in line with the "one of a million" group, and join the ranks of the "one in a million". I figured that if I could reach the top of my craft as an ironworker, and almost touch the sky, why not learn the craft of writing? It is essentially the same process, just with different study materials.
   I say all of that to encourage everyone to look at yourself, and see if you are doing what you love to do, or if you are doing what you have to do. Are you content being one of a million, or is there a place for you among the one in a million? We are still living in a fluid society. That means that we have the freedom to climb any ladder we choose to climb. This exchange can be very difficult, but us Americans are still people with work ethic at our core, and skin thicker than oak bark. We all need to make choices like this while we still can. There are many among us who would rather do nothing, so that essentially leaves the rest of us more opportunities to flourish. Don't sieze the day, sieze your life; it is still very possible even if you don't make a massive career change. We all know where the road blocks are, so work around them and watch what happens. This is still the land of opportunity; that's why people still move here.