Changing Places

It’s been three years since I set foot in an office and of those 1,102 days I can say that it’s exactly 0 of them that I’ve missed being there.

Not the kind of life I’m looking for…

My somewhat dramatic career change from lawyer/banker to writer/photographer/bum is one of the topics I’m asked about most.  For the record allow me to answer a few of the most commonly asked questions I encounter:

1. Do I miss it?  That’s an easy one: no, never, not at all.

2. You could always go back right?  Yes I could, but I’d rather live off of twigs and berries in the arctic wilderness than go back to the soul sucking environment of the corporate world.  The only way you’ll find me back in an office is bound in chains or, less dramatically, if I’m working on a film in one.

A friend of mine recently posted on Facebook that he finally has an office with a window. I wonder how it’d compare to my office?

3. Did you go to school for photography or writing? Nope, never.  I’ve spent a total of 10 years at university and exactly none of those were spent studying writing or photography.  I never took even a single class.  The closest I got to creative writing was making up phony excuses to explain why I’d missed class.  I didn’t even own a digital camera until after I finished college.

It’s no Ansel Adams, but it’s a start.

4. So was it hard to get started in writing and photography?  This would be a good place to insert my triumphant struggle with adversity, but to be honest it wasn’t hard.  If there’s one thing that I’ve done right in life, it’s leave the doubting to other people.  When I look in the mirror I see Superman.  I always believe I could do something as well as other people until it’s been proven otherwise.  It can be hard to think this way when reading Tolstoy or viewing Ansel Adams, but the truth is that no one is born with pen or camera stuck in their hand.  In fact neither of those two individuals went to university for writing or photography either so why not me?

5. Final question, why do write about this online?  Like most people I like positive reinforcement and given how much I like attention it’s normal that people think I keep this site up so that when I meet people they will tell me how special I am, but that’s not the case.  I don’t think I’m particularly special.  I went to law school because I’m as susceptible to peer-pressure and self doubt as anyone else, probably more so.  I just slowly came to realize over time that a life lived in pursuit of money or the dreams of others is a life poorly spent.  This doesn’t mean a life in an office is a bad one.  One of my closest friends works in an office and he seems to love it like I love ice cream.  I just want people to know that there’s an alternative, lots of them in fact, and if a lazy, distracted guy like I can do it, so can you.

Why Not?