on passion

I work at an art museum. A contemporary art museum to be specific.

This interests a lot of people who know me because I am by no means artistically inclined (ask my best friend about a 7th grade "drawing" I made of a rubber duck and she'll confirm this ....) and have only taken one art class since I turned 12. It was an ancient art class at Ohio State.

I suppose I like art, especially photography. I like the water-themed paintings we have in our living room, too. But I must admit that our spare bedroom walls are covered in Cedar Point calendars and the two "works of art" in our bedroom are Bev Doolittle puzzles we put together and then framed. I suppose both could be considered art. The calendars are a testament to commercial photography and graphic design. The puzzles are actually created from original paintings. But we don't have an amazing collection of original work. Despite a love for Wyland walls and the work we saw at his gallery in St. Armands Circle, we haven't purchased a Wyland sculpture or underwater photograph. And I haven't done well in convincing Mike to look into buying a Peter Lik work either. It's really just more expensive than we can afford right now. I did buy a pen-and-ink drawing of a ship at Neptune Festival last year, but it's a print. And it's still propped up on the mantle without a mat or a frame. My next purchase for decorative purposes is most likely going to be a map, not a glass sculpture, a painting or a drawing. While it will be the coolest map around, it's by no means something you'd find in a hip NYC gallery. I just think it'll be very cool in my "dream den" someday.

Sometimes I find it hard to believe that I enjoy my job so much when I have such a limited use of "real" art in my own life. And while I can't honestly say I love every aspect of my job (who does?), I can say that I don't hate waking up on Monday morning or the thought of working late now and again.

I work at this art museum because I like to write.

About art, sure. I don't think I'm very good at it yet, but I'm definitely better than I was just a few months ago. And I plan to keep improving.

About education, definitely. Especially in this day in age when people don't seem to value educational opportunities as much as I think they should. It is sad to see this trend when the importance of education keeps increasing. There is such a huge supply of college graduates these days, and the number of jobs doesn't seem to be rising as quickly. I know so many people who are intelligent with one or two degrees who still have a difficult time finding employment. I couldn't imagine the struggle this would be with no degree at all.

But I mostly enjoy writing about the projects and programs that develop when talented, hard-working and passionate people collaborate. Not for money, not for fame. But for the betterment of their communities and society in general.

It may be a bit too idealistic to say that all of my co-workers show up each morning because they believe it is crucial for everyone to learn about and study art. I am sure some are more concerned about paying their bills each month than they are the livelihood of the arts in Virginia Beach. I might even fall into the latter category. I am worried about car insurance, student loan payments and gas costs for my hour-long commute each day. I enjoy pampering my dog with new toys and feeding her the Royal Canin dog food formulated for dachshunds. It's definitely not the cheapest dog food around. And while I really enjoy design as it relates to newspaper layout and desktop publishing, I certainly don't know much about high-end fashion, painting or contemporary crafts. I do, however, understand and support the value of artistic expression.

And I think that everyone should. Even though I am by no means an artist and you probably couldn't tell from my house that I enjoy artwork, I believe very strongly in the mission of the museum for which I work. I think this is crucial for anyone who works in the non-profit sector, and unsurprising, the overwhelming majority of people I have met who are currently working in my field do so because they passionate about a cause.

I often wonder how many people are lucky enough to feel passionate about their work. You always hear people say "do what you love" -- but how many people do? How many people are passionate about their salaries, not the people they help? I'm not ranting against the folks who work hard to become doctors or lawyers and legitimately enjoy what they do for more than just the financial reward. In fact, I think that a majority of doctors and lawyers probably choose the profession for a lot more than high salaries. I don't know many people who would be willing to go through law school and medical school if they didn't feel that in the long run they would really love their line of work. I simply think the world could be a better place if everyone did something they loved, and did so for the right reasons.

I've been through the following questions myself, quite a bit actually. I've finally found the answers, so I'll ask my readers: Do you love what you do? If so, why? And if not, why are you still doing it? There is only so much time on earth to enjoy, why should anyone spend most of it pushing papers for a cause that they don't wholeheartedly support?