What are you willing to give up..
..to pursue your dream?
By: Shelby Harris.
I quit!
All throughout life we have a certain dream. That one dream that we would give up anything to have. But would you give up your own career to achieve that dream, give up on all that you worked for to get what you want?
Gatsby/ Wilson's dream.
Within the novel "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, one of the main characters Jay Gatsby had a dream. To be with his one true love, Daisy Buchanan. He had given up everything to be with her, and eventually lost his life while trying to protect her. He gave up his career in the Military and went to the lavish lifestyle and began throwing extravagant parties all just to get his love's attention. With the loss of his career, he didn't seem to care. Nothing else had mattered to him. All he ever wanted was to rekindle the flame with his old love. He was determined to get her back even when Nick tries to warn him that the past can't be repeated he replies with "Why of course you can." (Fitzgerald 116) Nick had his share of thoughts on the Buchanan's, as they both are sort of hypocrites. Both are having an affair, but both get mad when they find out. When Nick has the thought that "they were careless people" (Fitzgerald 188) he goes on to think that they had done whatever they had wanted to people and others pay for what they did. Gatsby gave his career up, without hesitation. He knew it was only Daisy that he had wanted. But he's not the only one. Wilson had also given up his career for his dream to save his marriage. Not as willing as Gatsby, he ends up taking his own life after feeling the guilt of killing Gatsby, ending his career. After finding out about his wife Myrtle's death, it was blamed on Gatsby, even though it was Daisy driving his car, he shoots and kills Gatsby then eventually shoots himself. He began to tell Myrtle that she "can't fool God" (Fitzgerald 160) and "God sees everything" (Fitzgerald 167) in which of course he is referring to her actions but also sort of with his, which will also be one of the reasons for suicide. Both characters have given up their careers, for love. And both ended with the loss of careers and lives.
Real world cost.
People all over the world have sacrificed their career's to pursue their dreams. Take one of the most common group of people who do this most often, women. Women will give up their career's to be a stay at home mom, or a house wife. Women that want to settle down and have a family will more than likely willingly sacrifice their career for their family. There are about "5.1 million stay-at-home moms in the US as of 2010" (Facts for Features). But it's not just women who want to stay home and be the "housewife", husbands and fathers all over the US also give up their careers for the dream of having the perfect family. "Women now place a higher importance on having a successful, high-paying career than men do" causing the men to be the new "mommys".
Giving up a dream...realistic?
OF COURSE! Thousands of people give up their career to pursue their dreams. Everyone has that certain dream, whether you are a woman giving up her dream to raise her kids at home, or you're a man who gave up his awful career working in an office to pursue his dream to be a solider fighting for our country, that's still giving up your current career to pursue your dream. This is 100% realistic and it happens everyday in the US.
Is it worth it?
It all depends on what the dream is, if you have an amazing career, good pay, a happy life, and you love what you do, why give that up to go for something that's not 100% going to happen. If you have an awful job, no family, but your dream is to have one, GO FOR IT! But in all honesty, do what makes you happy, it doesn't matter what anyone else says, if you want to pursue your dream.. go full out. Never give up. On a personal note, I wouldn't give up my career for a dream, because my career IS my dream. So there is nothing to give up!
Works Cited.
"Facts for Features: Mother's Day: May 8, 2011 - Facts for Features & Special Editions - Newsroom - U.S. Census Bureau." Census Bureau Homepage. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2012. <http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/cb11-ff07.html>.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 1996. Print.
"Stay-at-Home Dads: Is Dad the New Mom? - ABC News." ABCNews.com - Breaking News, Latest News & Top Video News - ABC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2012. <http://abcnews.go.com/US/stay-home-dads-dad-mom/story?id=16596365#.UNNZcuSx-81>.