Far More Fortunate

WHAT AMERICAN ever celebrated the eighteenth birthday with any idea whatever concerning the future, let alone any vague idea? Some, certainly, but, on a purely percentage basis, surely not many. You almost pity those who do; they never get to experience the joyful angst of undecided youth, the joyful, hopeful fear of the vast unkown. They are sequestered in the stultifying comfort of certainty.

College, job, or the military. Are these not the standard choices? Forty years ago, when confronted with these choices, I vowed that i would never join the military voluntarily or any other way; viet nam had decided for me. I would go to canada first. Now, I would join in a heartbeat. It might be the best choice, opening opportunites of enormous variety for post military pursuits. Any opportunities for a fifty eight year old recruit?

And sometimes, when one is uncertain and confused, and ends up pursuing a path that was previously unthinkable, one is actually better off. Consider, for instance, albert einstein. When he graduated college with a degree in physics, he tried to get a job as an assistant to a, any, professor of physics, in a, any, european university. He was about twenty one years old, with a girlfriend and a child, (which nobody knew about until quite recently, and whom he never saw, and gave up for adoption), and in a letter he wrote "I have applied to every physics professor from scandanavia to southern italy".

He never got a job. His credentials were unimpressive, he didn't dress properly, and he was somewhat of, ahem, a smart ass. He never even got any responses to his applications. At one point his father tried to help him by writing a pleading letter to a distinguised professor on his son's behalf, and begged for help - but got no reply.

Einstein began sending out self addressed stamped envelopes for professors to use in reply; none of them ever came back, and today, humorously, these postcards are museum pieces and highly valued collectors items in the collectible industry, fragments from the early life of the great einstein, reminders that, as goethe said "one does not always lose if one has to do without".

einstein ended up getting a job in the swiss patent office, where he worked for seven years, happily inspecting all manner of crazy devices for which inventors were seeking patents. this allowed him plenty of free time to think, and to totally revolutionize science and our understanding of the universe.

I was born nine days after einstein died, and when i was a teenager i thought i might be einstein reincarnated. then, i thought i might end up as an esteemed college professor. Instead i ended up teaching college, all grade levels in public schools, did some substitute teaching, and became a care giver for disabled people. And, a blogger. I have no regrets. Life is fulfilling, no what what one does, so long as what one does is worthwhile, and contributes to humanity.

Late in life einstein said that if he had to do it all over again he would either be a plulmber or a lighthouse attendant, becuae his favorite activity was wuietly thinking, which made the thought of lighthouse sitting attractive to him and plumbling was a helpful, practical profession. The american plumbers association made him an honorary member.

Even though he had a career as a great scientist, world famous, and contributed much, his failures and frustrations were as great as his successes, he hated the notoriety, which he considered weird, annoying, and unfounded, and, as others have pointed out, in terms of actual scientific accomplishments, he might as well have gone fishing the last half of his life.

But one thing einstein was smart enough to know, which we should all know; the success of a person's life is not measured by wealth, fame, or power, but rather, by the degree to which one finds happiness in serving the human race and nature, and god, through humble but productive activity.

And to all you confused eighteen year olds; best of luck, you are far more fortunate than you may realize.