A garden and a library

We were sitting in a cafe on London Bridge. Even though it was only Wednesday, it was pretty noisy. Everything was booked, so we had to sit at low tables by the bar. Those small lounge coffee tables are made for cocktails. When the waiter brought the food, we had to bend ourselves forwards to eat it. After several minutes, my back started to ache.

“I had a revelation this week,” I said, sipping on my second club soda. That’s what I am sticking to these days. “I was offered a job. A good one. More money. Possible relocation to California. Option package. I would be a CMO at a startup…”

My father’s eyes flared up.

“…but anyway. I declined,” I continued, straightening my back.

“Why?”

My father looked at me with curiosity. His mashed potatoes patiently waited for our conversation to be over.

“Because that’s not how I imagine my life to go, you know? I don’t want to end up 30-ish, with good money and a career, sure, but deep inside regretting that I didn’t try going all-in on what I love: writing,” I said.

Long story short: several weeks ago, I was approached by a founder I knew. He told me about the product they were building and I got excited. Yet, after several Zoom sessions, it became clear that taking the job would be like cheating on myself. Here I was, 24, and once again, I almost took a job that I understood and that paid well. When in truth, I wanted to build a career in something new and something that I love —…