I love June's latest blog update. It speaks a lot about what I sometimes struggle with, although I'm not as diverse as she is. It's especially poignant at this point in time when I'm looking at a career change and broke into tears when my mom questioned me about it. Sometimes I too struggle with whether I should focus only on music or only in teaching school subjects. Why can't I do both? Here's some excerpts from June's post :

"So, what do you do?

A lot of people ask me that question. And i’m guilty of asking the same of others. At this point, you must know two things: 1) I don’t really have an answer to that question, and 2) I don’t know why I ask other people what they do, because most times I have found that it has no bearing on their character. It’s not something i’m proud of, and i’m trying hard to mend my ways.

I do lots of things.

This year, I did a lot of corporate writing, worked with UNICEF as a consultant, started a little events company .... I worked with various companies, NGOs and individuals to bring different ideas to fruition, some of which (I sincerely hope) helped make a difference to people in need.

Next year, I hope i’ll be doing other things. So when people ask me what I do, I always say i’m a “writer”, because it’s the most honest answer I can give in the shortest time. If you think about it, all the stuff I do requires some writing at some point (from emails, to reports, to articles, to scribbling my name on a contest form hoping to win a free trip to Honolulu etc.)

But this usually invites more questions, such as: “What do you write about?”, “Who do you write for?”, and the inevitable, “Are you a blogger?”.

[By the way, the standard answers to those questions are: 'Nonsense', 'Anyone who will pay me', and 'NO'.]

I think I spent quite a bit of time being bothered by not knowing what defined me, but i’m over it now.

People work their whole lives so that they can have business cards that spell out their role in society. I have known people who got angry with bosses who didn’t provide them with name cards. Maybe it’s a social tool, as i’ve noticed how people give out name cards as if it’s going out of fashion.

Back when I was doing my pupillage in a big corporate law firm, the other pupils would look forward to the end of pupillage because it meant having their own 8′ x 8′ office with their name in gold letters on the door, and name cards that told the world they were doing something important. As you progressed in the firm, you were upgraded to bigger rooms; and when you made partner, you got a room with windows or some sort of view, depending on seniority.

I remember naively asking my boss at the time why people worked hard so that they could be enslaved in a box for the rest of their lives. Working 10 years to get your own parking space and a room with a view just didn’t make sense to me. Unsurprisingly, I didn’t last very long in the corporate world.

Personally, I prefer to look into someone’s eyes, smile, and say “Hello, I’m June” before any exchange of name cards. It’s a warmer way, brings people closer, and makes them want to call you more. It also took a while for me to buy into the whole name-card-for-business idea, but I do have some now.

When faced with the question “What do you do for a living?” My good friend Oliver used to answer, “I skate, draw, and play for a living. And to make money I do other things.”

Similarly, I laugh, play, and fall in love every day. People will snigger and demand a “serious answer” when I tell them that, but I really don’t feel like I have a JOB because I really enjoy what I do..."