Being a jack of all trades isn't a bad thing, but it becomes a joke at some point. You become that one person that my third cousin knows, who knows a guy, who knows another guy, who might know a guy who can fix anything.
No one wants this title. When looking for employment, sometimes you have to dull down your skills to only what is applicable for the role you're looking to land. That's the problem with being me. I often find it hard to dull down my talents. How can I? I don't want to be the jack of all trades - I wanna be the master of all trades. I want to be the very best like no one ever was.
All jokes aside, I grasp how people are just OK with doing the bare minimum. When I consider myself and where I want to be in life, I think, "Do I really want to be doing this thing for X amount of years?" I'm one of those people who want to know and understand everything about how the world works, how stars are formed, what is the optimal temperature to cook broccoli, how to become a cartographer - you know, normal 30-year-old thoughts.
When I think about my reasoning for wanting to know everything, have I always wanted to know how the world works, Or is this some defense mechanism that I've developed over time? Is this some deep-rooted trauma that I haven't paid attention to? I like to think that I am more than just a person with more than everyday thoughts. I'd like to think that most people think philosophically about life. Then I also remember the horrors and atrocities that we face every day, and I feel numb to it.
In the words of the great Peggy Lee - Is that all there is? I suppose there's more to life than knowing everything. There's shit that can't be explained or is too complex to commit to understanding. But at some point, you'll have to stop trying to be the jack of all trades - in order to master at least one.
- Until Next Time
