Career paths

I'm always weighing the pros and cons of people jobs. Everywhere. All the time.

When in McDonald's, I think, "I could probably be the Assistant Manager. . . at the very least. And if I applied myself, I think could even be the regional or district manager." And then I think about all the food I would eat. The people serving the food at McDonald's are always at least as fat as the customers. Then I rethink this career path.

I don't know why I've set the bar so low for myself. I guess I'm just comparing myself to people I encounter on a daily basis. I don't run across many CEOs, screenplay writers or entrepreneurs regularly.

Then, today, while riding my bike in lower Manhattan, I came across the guy in the photo. A grown man posing as Lady Liberty. . . for tourists. And then, I wonder how he got to this point.

Did he wake up one day and say, "Hey, I bet I could make a great living by standing as still as a stop sign posing and taking pictures with strangers!!!"

Or was he a dentist that hated the smell of saliva? Or a construction worker with a fear of heights? Or, even worse, a copywriter with no talent at all?

Whatever brought him to this. He seemed to be happy with his career choice as he beckoned tourists to take a picture with him. He seemed enthusiastic about portraying a gigantic green woman with a crown holding two styrofoam tablets. It worked for him. And the tourists seemed to love him as if he were the real Lady Liberty. As if this female impersonator had welcomed their very own ancestors to our shores.

And that's OK. That's what New York is all about. Reinventing yourself. Even if it means making career choices you would have never made in the place you were from. But it all seems to work out in New York.