Do Not Pass “Go”
I suppose the idea burrowed into my brain during my first upper-division literature course, which makes sense. It was Victorian literature, and the professor was a midwestern transplant who wore loafers to class and introduced Dickens in a way that actually made him interesting to me. She had mentioned her plans to spend the summer abroad in England, touring the homes of all her favorite Victorian writers. You can do that? I thought to myself, as if I had just discovered I was an adult and could eat all the candy I wanted. My imagination began stirring up a misty future that up until that point had been rather blank.
That idea never really left, eventually growing into an elephant that knocked about in my head, taking up every inch of space; space that should be devoted to the idea of having and raising children, if I’m following the prescribed formula. That is what most of the women I know did. However, I’ve learned that the elephant does not give a shit about what I “should” be doing.
The fantasy of the traveling lit professor has never truly gone away, no matter how many times I’ve tried to chase it out with bullhooks and life experience. You can’t help what you want from life. I’ve learned that, too.
Strangely enough, one of my sisters spent her twenties trotting the globe, just as I had planned to. Stranger still, I rarely felt the usual nip of jealousy because I knew someday I would get my turn. I just had to follow the steps, gaining degree after degree, just like when I was a kid passing levels on Sonic the Hedgehog. I never imagined that after defeating level 12, the screen would darken and Dr. Robotnik would steal all my gold rings.
“Sorry, sucker, it was all a trick!” he’d laugh thickly. “Take another turn on the low-wage job wheel and watch everyone else’s dreams come true while yours turn malignant! Do not pass ‘go!’ Do not collect $200!”
Or something like that.
She went to Romania, to Haiti twice, to Africa twice, collecting photos of real elephants, memories and souvenirs of a life well-lived. I worked hard, patiently grinding away until it would be my turn. Friends around me have made their realities reflect their dreams. Each year I grow older, lose another job, gain a debt in my lifetime earnings. With each year that passes, I fear I’ll never catch up.
Work now resembles a wavy fun house mirror image of what it is I set out to do. Much like a dream where you run but you don’t go anywhere, the reality is distorted in a carnivalesque way. It’s not right, but it’s not exactly wrong, either. No literature classes to teach, no travel on the horizon, for a variety of complex reasons that hurt every day. They are not unique to me, these reasons; in fact, it’s sort of a professional epidemic. That doesn’t lessen the pain, though.
All I want is my own Victorian lit class, my own trip to England, my own tasselled loafers. I’d teach Collins instead of Dickens, though, because I’m my own woman and Dickens is still a tough pill to swallow.
16 Comments
Nate
This post makes me want to visit the Lake District in northern England again. I had a picnic lunch outside Beatrix Potter’s house and visited Wordsworth’s grave later that night. Wanna go?
Nate recently posted…The One-Two Punch
Katy B.
I’m high-jacking that invitation – I wanna go!
Katy B. recently posted…Something Amiss
chamanasgar
It’s an awesome story, I honestly wish you can do what you want.
Michelle Longo
I believe you still have time to live out that dream. We have to keep hope alive otherwise what’s the point?
Michelle Longo recently posted…Blog Forward Challenge – Third Installment
Vanessa D.
Growing up shouldn’t mean giving up on dreams. I hope you find a way to make the ones that really matter to you happen.
Vanessa D. recently posted…We Lost Something Precious Today
Josh
I can relate so much it hurts. There’s a strange, understated optimism in your piece though. Like, in spite of the fact that it sounds really depressing, you haven’t lost all hope. Sometimes hope is all we have, and maybe that’s enough.
Josh recently posted…Some Things Can Be Fixed
Stacie
I believe in fairies! I think you will follow your dreams until they come true. It’s not unrealistic, a Lit class and a trip to England! And? Even though I’m a scientist, Dickens is one of my favorites. I used to read him for fun when I was in graduate school (Although I never had to pick it apart. I could just let it happen).
Stacie recently posted…Big Top Bust Out
Katy B.
I can’t stand “the prescribed formula.” Remember, the elephant does NOT give a shit about “should.” You can still do it one day.
Katy B. recently posted…Something Amiss
Samantha Brinn Merel
Dickens really is a tough pill to swallow.
Keep dreaming lovely. There are literature classes and lots of homes of famous Victorian writers in your future.
Samantha Brinn Merel recently posted…An Unintentional, and Perfect, Edit
Pam
Another brave, beautiful post. Whatever you do, keep writing!! It’s like a little gift in my inbox:)
anachips
I love the way you describe and personify your imagination and the way this idea took root and never quite left. It’s true – passion is pretty stubbornly ignorant of the prescribed formula and can’t be coerced! I hope your reality gets closer and closer to the dream, a step at a time.
anachips recently posted…Fellow travelers and other obstacles
Silverleaf
I don’t remember when but I do remember that feeling of, “wait, I can do that?” Don’t loose it – hold onto that and to hope. What a beautiful dream. Maybe it will come true differently than you expect but I hope it does come true. As far as the “shoulds” in life go, forget all of them. Your elephant knows what he’s talking about.
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Lance
I just want to dive into a pile of books and vanish into deep thought. Thanks for this.
Lance recently posted…Superunknown, A Rant In The Key Of Grunge
jetgirl
Thanks for sharing. Your dream is wonderful and I hope you get to see it come true!
jetgirl recently posted…Le Pneu Crevé — The Flat Tire!!
Jennie Goutet
WHEN you come, you’ll come visit me, right?
Jennie Goutet recently posted…Fall Holds No Joy For Me
Chris Plumb
This hits me too. Bitterness is a tougher pill to swallow, though. I’m fighting the bitterness of “doing it right” and “not being appreciated for my efforts.”
Yet I’m blessed in a lot of ways my more worldly friends are not. I cling to that. I’m traveling outside the US next summer for the first time ever (first time in a plane), and that’s progress. But I still have things at home that many of my successful friends do not. Stability and happiness. Happiness when I fight off my bitterness.
Beautifully written as always. Love the line about adults and candy.
Chris Plumb recently posted…We All Scream for Ice Cream: A Short Story