My name is Marcel Richard and I’ve had a lot of jobs. Growing up I wanted to be a doctor, probably partly because I spent what seemed like a lot of time in hospitals, but mostly because I knew they made a lot of money. I had everything I needed growing up, but maybe not everything I wanted. I thought that making a lot of money as an adult would get me those material things I desired and I would be happy. Along the road I realised how much I disliked school, and that being a doctor would involve much more schooling that I thought I could handle. After a 2 hour discussion with my guidance counsellor’s intern, talking about how my favourite class in school was Drama, and that I enjoyed playing music, she thought I should consider Engineering. It was a field where I could use my strength in math and sciences and also have some room for my creative/artistic side. I decided to enroll.

Once the initial glow of newfound liberty of university faded and the academic challenge of engineering kicked in, I started to realise that I might not have made the best choice. Year after year I told myself the next would be better and once I am done I would finally get a good job and live the good life.

After a year in my first real engineering job, I realised that working was very similar to how I felt in school; the only thing was that now I had to do this for 30 years before I could finally retire and start enjoying my life. After a year I decided to try another job, but it still didn’t feel right to me. I wondered whether this was what the “real world” was like; toil away your days and make the most of your evenings and weekends, until finally you’ve worked enough and are able to retire.

About half a year into my second “real world job” is when everything changed. I was at an after-work function when I get a call from my dad, who tells me that my uncle has passed away from cancer. Now, I wasn’t particularly close with my uncle but the news really hit me like a sack of bricks. It struck a chord with me, because my uncle was at that age where retirement is knocking — but the world had a different plan for him. It made me start to question my own life. I’m working away at something I don’t like in order to set myself up for retirement, and retirement might never come. I thought about my past: the last 25 years have seemed to be all about setting myself up for the future, do well in school to go to university, do well in university to get a good job, do