Are you where you envisioned yourself to be?

I didn't have much career focus until I was almost 30. Somewhere in there, I decided that I wanted to be a sports editor at a metro by the time I was 35. Made it by five months.

Given the turn the industry has taken in the past few years, I got out at a fortuitous time. Much happier in a senior-editor-type role at a smaller newspaper in a town I always wanted to live in. The work-life balance is where I want it to be, and I enjoy the time that belongs to me and my family in a way I never appreciated when I was younger.

 

I've been able to be a pure copy editor my whole career, so I'm lucky in that. Have had ups and downs but almost always have enjoyed the job. Am now someplace I never thought I'd be, but a place I think I belong, doing something I thought would take a lot longer to reach.

 

I'm also one of the lucky ones, doing exactly what I dreamed of way back when.

Fortune and good luck have smiled on me many times along the way. I'm humbled by the fact that I get to do what I love for a living and have a wonderful family to share my life with.

I get paid to be a sportswriter. For all the shit that comes with the gig, it beats wearing a suit, sitting through endless meetings and being one of the drones.

What I could have never envisioned when I started on this journey were the many twists, turns, roadblocks, detours and obstacles in the path. There was no straight line from there to here, just an endless road that winds on and on.

I've experienced incredible highs better than any drug I could imagine, and I've been sucker-punched so hard that I didn't get off the canvas until the ref had counted to nine.

On balance, I definitely count myself among the fortunate. But I've earned every single scar I've picked up on the journey.

 

In my case it's one of those be careful what you wish for deals.
Back in the day I wanted to be an SE, and have been for 20 years. In an era of downsizing, however, being an SE now means spending 70 percent of my time paginating, 20 percent editing, 5 percent managing and 5 percent writing.
I want to write more so I'm strongly considering a gig with less pay.
I guess I never realized how much I'd miss getting out in the field and reporting. For those who prefer the land-lock thing that's great, but I simply don't care for sitting in front of a computer screen all day drawing lines.
Again. some folks love design and are very good at it, but the more I do it the less I like it.
It looks like I might get this other job offer and I'm leaning heavily toward taking it, even with the financial hit.
It might turn out to be a poor career move, but it'd be nice to be happy in this business again, even if I have to replace Yuengling with Natty Light.

 

See, I want to wear a suit. I look good in a suit.

To each his own.

 

As my older brother said to me a few months ago:

"You've spent nearly 40 years doing what you've wanted to do since you were 12 years old. I hope you know how good you've got it."

 

I'm not where I would have envisioned myself, nor am I where I would have wanted to be.

However, if it weren't for a couple of issues I'm dealing with at my shop now, I'm happy with what I'm doing now. I'm getting rewards I never bargained for at my current gig.

That's why a line from the J.D. Souther song "How Long" appeals to me so much: "If I never see the good old days shinin' in the sun/I'll be doing fine and then some." I don't know if I'll get to that place I dreamed about as a kid, but I like what I've been able to do where I am now.