As I read the title It’s Okay to Laugh (Crying Is Cool Too) by Nora McInerny Purmort, I knew I had to read it. She explores life’s meaning by uncovering what it means to live our “one wild and precious life”. Her honesty and reliability makes reading her book worthwhile.
One lesson she wrote about life struck me and stayed with me. She wrote: “Dating a lot of boys and having a lot of jobs should tell you that I’m interested in finding the one that’s right for me, not just hunkering down and suffering through sex with someone whose bones protrude so far I can actually hear our skeletons clanking together, or a job where my boss thinks that the pizza we are eating for lunch is topped with shit-talking mushrooms. I refuse to let people slut-shame me for having a lot of jobs”. As I read this quote, I realized that life is about trying. It’s about meeting, finding, and dating different guys and finding, trying, and attempting different jobs for size because how can you otherwise judge someone or something? Life is about our attempts, whether they’re successful or not. I realize that life doesn’t have a syllabus: life isn’t like a class where you get a planned schedule and know what to expect for the upcoming weeks with homework assignments, exam dates, and reading tasks. Life has no plan of what to expect because there are various possibilities. We have the opportunity to make a multitude of choices. We get to choose our path as we go through the twists and turns of life. It’s on this route that our actions make for scary, dangerous, invigorating, exciting, amazing, and remarkable moments, all at the same time. So why not try being with a lot of guys? It’s through being with guys that we realize what we individually want in a man. We could want someone sweet or brave or ambitious or selfless. It’s through experience that we find out what kind of a partner we want. This person could be loving or caring or hard working or all of the above. So I say, try him. If there’s a guy out there who you’re attracted to or who you wanna go on a date with, or who makes you so completely and unbelievable happy, give him a chance. You may be lucky but you’ll never know… It’s through meeting many guys that we find the right one, and you never know where you’ll find him. He could be in your classroom, at the next party, or in a coffee shop. Your guy is out there, and love can always be found in the most unlikely of places. I encourage you to meet guys, to date them, and to keep looking for the one who gives you butterflies, who can always make you smile, and who loves you unconditionally for who you are. You deserve the best: never settle for less than you deserve.
And why not attempt numerous jobs? If you do this, then you will have lived; you will have no regrets. There will be no “I wish I would have taken that job” or “I wish I hadn’t given away that opportunity.” Your passion is out there in your work, and though it takes time to find your ideal job, you should try plenty out there that can lead to your perfect job. You will learn from every job you take whether it involves customer service, working with others, or hard work. On the road to finding your ultimate job, you may even find something better that you could have ever dreamed of. Your passion is in your job and you will discover it. You need to find a job that makes you excited to get up in the morning, a job that makes you happy (most days), and a job that fuels your desire. Remember that jobs are a lot like guys, you have to try some to find the one for you, and through experience, trial and error, and constant belief, I know you can find both.
References: Purmort, Nora McInerny. It’s Okay to Laugh (Crying Is Cool Too) London: Piatkus, 2016. Print.
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