Sunscreen Song

Whenever I need a pick me up at work, I find myself turning to the Sunscreen Song. You know, that song that came into popularity on the radio around 6 years ago? Most people have heard it at least once, but what most people don't know is that the song is actually by the director responsible for the movies Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet (with DiCaprio), Baz Luhrmann. For some reason, I just really connected to the song. Maybe because it starts out with, "Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of '97" and I had just graduated class of '98. There is another line that I always come back to:

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.

When I first heard this song, I was 22. I was also asking myself, usually on a daily basis, "Is this what I want to do with my life?" Sit in a cube, day in and day out? After 7 years in a cube, I still haven't found an answer to that question. What I have been able to do is convince myself it's what I have to do. It's what everyone has to do, and I'm not special. I may fantasize about quitting my job and, you know, walk the earth, meet people... get into adventures. Like Kane in Kung Fu. Obviously, this isn't realistic. I tell myself that cube life is just a means to an end. But... do the ends justify the means?

Who knows. The longer I wonder about what it is I want to do with the rest my life, the closer I actually get to... the rest of my life. I still might not have an answer when I'm 40, but I do know one thing. When I'm 40, my daughter will be 10 years old. For right now, that thought is comforting enough to ignore that I might never have an answer to what it is I want to do with my life.

Do one thing everyday that scares you!