The pursuit of happiness is inextricably wrapped up in the inevitable that sometimes you will fail in your pursuit. The pursuit of happiness often comes with great sadness and obstacles you encounter trying to attain your dream. But as Americans, we are at least given the hope that we can pursue something resembling happiness. It is so engrained in the fabric of our country that we mostly take for granted our freedom to make these choices. 

"When I ask older people,* they say it's the smart thing to get a stable job with benefits and a secure salary even if I don't like the job.  When I ask younger people,** they tell me to take time off, that it's completely fine to jump from job to job until I find something that, I don't know, fulfills me."

* Older than 33.
** Younger than 33.

My friend is leaving her job. It seems things are getting fairly dismal over at my former place of employ and that, perhaps, I got out while the getting was good. Unlike me, she's leaving without any kind of severance package and is a bit lost in her Next Step on the Journey sort of deal. She wanted to grab lunch and see how I'm doing as a gauge for what comes next for her.

"You don't seem to fit either category. What's that all about?"