Choose the Obnoxious

I've come to the age in my life, where I'm not a college student anymore, but people in their 30's and older, don't really consider me an adult.  I thought I was done with all this transitional aging, but I guess we never actually are.  The problem with this particular age is even though I'm an adult (and I think I'm all right at it), I don't feel my opinions are taken seriously by many older people.

Like, right now, my husband and I eat what we consider to be "ethical."  We still eat meat and animal products--though much, much fewer than we used to--and our criteria for what we consider "ethical" meat and animal products are pretty stringent.  This usually means we end up spending 4-5 times as much on meat and dairy than our parents.  Whenever the subject of groceries come up, I always get this "oh, honey" look from my mom--like I'm being naive trying to eat better for the environment, the animals, and me!  (I guess we never stop being children to our parents.)

But it's not just parents, I tend to get embarrassed telling people what I do (I teach piano), because I know many people don't consider that a "real" job.  There are so many reasons why I teach piano (instead of getting some mindless job like a page at a library even though the page job makes more money), but the most important reason is our dogs.  When we adopted our puppies, we made the commitment that we would be around them a lot, so they wouldn't have to live in a household where we're away all day.  Honestly, it doesn't matter my reasons for sticking with only being a piano teacher, I know that I'm making the right decision for me and my husband (and pups!) right now.

Am I happier eating the food I buy, having the job I have, and devoting extra time to my pups?  Yes!  A thousand times, yes!  But is my life more annoying because people always give me a "bless your heart" when I talk about the way I live my life?  A million times, yes.

I'd like to offer some more unsolicited advice to my peers (especially to those fresh out of college): if you have to choose between wasting your life not living in accordance with your values just because--especially because--of money or people reacting obnoxiously to your life/values, choose the obnoxious people.

Time doesn't slow down from here on out--in fact it gets faster.  The longer you take to live true to your values, the longer you waste your life.