So you want to be a truck driver?

Thirty years ago I found myself sitting in a school library, shuffling pages, skimming for highest reward with least amount of effort. I don't think this was the intention of the project, but to a 7th grader who hated school and loved money, this was my objective. The true purpose was researching your future career. Somehow, they expected us to know at twelve years old what we wanted to do with the rest of our lives. Our options were limited to what they put in one career book. Little did we know that there were careers like taste tester, toy evaluator, or food truck owner. While this might seem like a simple assignment with little ramifications, for me, it would redefine my outlook on life. In some ways, it blew out the flame on my future perspective.

It has taken me thirty years to realize at what point my road diverged from one of innocence to one of frustration, self preservation, and checking out. Sure I wanted to be an Architect, but eight years of schooling!? How about being a Cartoonist, like my childhood hero, Walt Disney? It would help if I was able to draw. When I came to truck driver, I saw a $60k salary with only a high school education required. Well, that sounded pretty good to me. Travel, live in my introverted bubble, make $60k, and no higher education required! Shut up and take my money!

Things get pretty dark when you realize that you have five more years of school to go, but none of it you'll need for your newfound career (or so you think). Especially, when you learn visually, have a terrible time staying organized, and are expected to fit the archaeic mold that is our education system. Throw in the reality of entering your akward phase, realization that girls exist, social groups are forming, and walla you have yourself a powderkeg my friend. What do you do when you don't fit in? Overcompensate to hide your insecurities, of course. What's the best way I knew how? Make money, act out, and drink whenever the opportunity presented itself. Drink at 12 years old? Yep. It helps when you have a friend who has the cool mom who lets you have a wine cooler or mixed drink from time to time. At eighty pounds, soaking wet, one watermellon cooler is sufficient for exiting reality and becoming someone else. It's amazing to me that I've only realized now that it has been 30 years since I've went an entire year without a drink. Sure it was few and far between at first, but over time it got easier and easier to do. When drinking wasn't an option, fleeing into the world of video games was more than sufficient.

If you're wondering, no, I didn't end up being a truck driver. I clawed my way through an Associates Degree after a few years of working in a warehouse and ended up as a field service technician. Oddly enough, I got my travel in, 38 states and multiple countries! I just wish I would have been journaling then because I've forgot alot of the things I experienced now.

What's my point in all of this? No matter where you find yourself in life, it isn't a death sentence. We are the only "creature" on earth that can change our destiny. A dog can only be a dog, but we can reinvent ourselves whenever we want. After 42 years, I felt God calling me to change my path and fulfill the purpose He has me here for. I quit a high paying job to follow His direction and He has been providing for me the entire way. Was it terrifying? Absolutely. However, once it was done, it was absolutely freeing and I've never regretted it. Sure, we've had to give up some things, until it gets moving, but I have an incredible peace and joy that I'd never want to lose. This world has so many distractions that we stay trapped by it all. When you remove the distractions it illuminates your mind and you begin to understand the spell we're all under.

I wish there was a way to turn back time, but that's not going to happen. Instead, I plan to do as much as I can with the time I have left. I have a feeling God's plan for my life was worth the wait.

Until next time, God bless.