Seated in a Tim Hortons with my insurance
textbooks spread out, I would occasionally look up from studying to observe any
suitable distraction. Minutes after I had taken my place, an old man in an army
green raincoat sat down at the corner table to my left. His grey hair was cut
short, his skin a sun-weathered leather. In the other chair at his table he had
placed a large knapsack of the same green, undoubtedly filled with just his
necessities. During the lost hours I spent there, he never once stopped writing
except to read over his red-penned cursive. As far as I could tell, his cup of
coffee only served as a pretense for his being there. He appeared homeless, but
at the same time, exuded a greater confidence and purpose than the groups of
his retired peers sitting and chatting in groups around the coffee shop.
I didn’t wish to find out anything more about
him in fear that it would ruin the identity which I had created. His character
was genuine and his life, though simple, was purposeful. This appearance was a
ruse, though not intentional as he did not consider how others saw him. He
chose to be so dressed for practicality and not because he didn’t have other
means on which to get by.
It was all a form of projection, I suppose.
He was the embodiment of a life well-lived and underneath the weight of work
stress and study obligations, that’s what I envied. At the end of my years, I
hope to find myself seated in a coffee shop, wholly consumed by the action of writing
a letter to family.
The important reflection of course, is
whether my current actions – studying insurance, in particular and accepting
the stress that comes with such a profession – can lead me to the life I hope
to live. My foremost struggle is convincing myself that the effort I put into
my work is not wasted by the lack of recognition from others. The effort I put
forward is to better myself and work towards the person I want to become. This applies
to the young professional regardless of his or her chosen field.
Insurance – and by extension, law – is a pursuit
which interests me for its role in the underpinnings of a stable, yet dynamic modern
civilization. If not for professional reasons, the information gained through
the study of insurance would not be wasted in a productive member of society. Also,
Latin is pretty cool.
To tie in my current readings, Thoreau wrote:
“Little
is to be expected of that day, if it can be called a day, to which we are not
awakened by our Genius, but by the mechanical nudging of some servitor, are not
awakened by our own newly-acquired force and aspirations from within,
accompanied by the undulations of celestial music, instead of factory bells,
and a fragrance filling the air – to a higher life than we fell asleep from;
and thus the darkness bear its fruit, and prove itself to be good, no less than
the light. That man who does not believe that each day contains an earlier,
more sacred, and auroral hour than he has yet profaned, has despaired of life,
and is pursuing a descending and darkening way.” (Walden;
or, Life in the Woods)
The challenge of the young professional is to
keep moving forward. Here in the open world starts true possibility, though diluted
encouragement. Stand on your own feet and prove to yourself that you can become
the person you want to be.
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