Wasted Time? | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Wasted Time?
Samuel Alexander

Sometimes I wonder why I try. I've been on vacation for two weeks. It's been great. At the moment I'm getting the 'I have to go the hell back home blues' and it sucks. But returning back to the real world is the least of my problems. I've spent the last week of this vacation working. Yeah, you heard it. Working.

I decided that I would give out free chapters of my books here to entice people to buy them. This involves the arduous task of copy and pasting into blog. Then reformatting. Then sharing on google twice, twitter, and facebook twice. I have been awake since 530 and it is now 730. That's two hours of my day for six books. Not seven .

Two days ago I was like I need views. So after posting, I decided to share my books to all the groups I have joined on both google and facebook. One book on both Facebook and gplus took up an easy 90 mins of my time. ANd then I did another book so that's three more hours into my day. Math says I've used up 8 hours of my day to share just two books and I'm on fucking vacation. And have four more to go.

This is the life I live

In the real nonvacation world I am up at 6 to make that 7am bus to get to work before the traffic hits so that I can work from 9 to 8 then spend 90 mins in the gym end up on the 945 bus which gets me home at ten 30 and after getting ready to sleep I have to then decide if I'm going to be an artist. Spend the 8 hours it takes to share only two out of six books. Knowing I actually have seven books and the fact that 11 to 6 is only 7 hours so I'm one hour short even if I decided to go no-sleep. And most importantly, this involves ZERO writing of new material.

This is the dilemma I'm facing day in and day out. This is why I"m not writing any new shit this year. And this is why I don't have nothing for anyone on the 'do n't give up train'.

In order to get views I have to do more than the five share minimum stated way up in this post. To do that i have to give up more than the 24 hrs provided in a day thus meaning I can't work, but I can't afford to create books without money.... conundrum.

I wonder if it's worth it. Am I wasting time? No new followers, I can't break 100 views per post without killing my ass and then I still can't break 150. No likes, no shares no retweets no sales, and here I am doing it again on my last day of vacation when I should be oversleeping. Or reading a book. Walking aimlessly through a mall pretending to buy shit I can't afford. But I'm here lamenting in a blog post about whether my time would've been better spent actually enjoying myself.

I probably am wasting my time. It's not going to go anywhere and I feel as if society needs to let people know that out of all the people in the world there is no one special dream job that you will fall in love with out there for everyone. Some people will never like their place in life. Sometimes paying the bills and survival trumps everything. There isn't a magical realm filled with fulfilled-and-reached dreams just waiting for every human in existence to come and pluck their flower from the garden and be happy. I read a meme that said just this on vacation and there's too much truth in it.

Unfortunately for me, the damage has been done. Instead of me being okay with my lot in life, my subconscious will keep insisting that there is this magical life fulfilment realm just waiting for me. Instead of me trying to enjoy life outside of an unfulfilling job so that I can find some sort of inner peace, self-actualisation, I'm going to continue torturing myself. Depriving myself of sleep. Writing all the new books in my head. Being angry and bitter at a world for not buying them while in the same breath encouraging me to chase the dream. Keep crying in bathroom corners until I have another nervous breakdown. Have nightmares that mimic my actual day except much more sinister. Fall deeper and deeper into a hole of madness chasing the impossible. Not that it's a lie. Dreams do come true.

But it's ludicrous to believe they would for everyone. It's just not possible.

So am I wasting time? In retrospect yes. Nothing ever works. Based on free chapter results. Double yes. I have links to all previous chapters in each new chapter and I'm up to eleven chapters now. No one has gone back to read the previous ones. The view counts stay the same of the previous chapters once I post a new one. I either have to accept the fact that I suck as an author or that I am the problem and no one cares about me. Depression sucks ass. But still, the subconscious says keep going and my mind and fingers and sleep deprivations say better but hope is stupid and doesn't listen to logic. It insists on tempting the fates so tempt I must.

And the most saddening thing about this entire bitchfest I"m having is that my life in the grand scheme of things isn't anything special or unique. Not by far. The sad thing is that I'm not the only one living like this.

There are millions more and we all can't make it. Dig ourselves out of depression and reach our dreams. Whether it be the building a fitness empire, creating breakthrough science, being a singer/writer/dancer or opening up a coffee shop/bookstore. It's just not possible that we will all get there. And it never will be.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
girl with a hat

This is for the girls who have dealt with an emotionally, mentally, physically or verbally abusive father.

The ones who have grown up with a false lens of what love is and how relationships should be. The ones who have cried themselves to sleep wondering why he hurts you and your family so much. This is for all the girls who fall in love with broken boys that carry baggage bigger than their own, thinking it's their job to heal them because you watched your mother do the same.

Keep Reading...Show less
Blair Waldorf Quote
"DESTINY IS FOR LOSERS. IT'S JUST A STUPID EXCUSE TO WAIT FOR THINGS TO HAPPEN INSTEAD OF MAKING THEM HAPPEN." - BLAIR WALDORF.

The world stopped in 2012 when our beloved show "Gossip Girl" ended. For six straight years, we would all tune in every Monday at 9:00 p.m. to see Upper Eastside royalty in the form of a Burberry headband clad Blair Waldorf. Blair was the big sister that we all loved to hate. How could we ever forget the epic showdowns between her and her frenemy Serena Van Der Woodsen? Or the time she banished Georgina Sparks to a Christian summer camp? How about that time when she and her girls took down Bart Bass? Blair is life. She's taught us how to dress, how to be ambitious, and most importantly, how to throw the perfect shade.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

11 Moments Every College Freshman Has Experienced

Because we made it, and because high school seniors deserve to know what they're getting themselves into

592
too tired to care

We've all been there. From move-in day to the first finals week in college, your first term is an adventure from start to finish. In honor of college decisions coming out recently, I want to recap some of the most common experiences college freshmen experience.

1. The awkward hellos on move-in day.

You're moving your stuff onto your floor, and you will encounter people you don't know yet in the hallway. They live on your floor, so you'll awkwardly smile and maybe introduce yourself. As you walk away, you will wonder if they will ever speak to you again, but don't worry, there's a good chance that you will make some great friends on your floor!

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

21 Things I've Learned About College Life

College is not what everyone expects it to be.

302
laptop
Unsplash

The college years are a time for personal growth and success. Everyone comes in with expectations about how their life is supposed to turn out and envision the future. We all freak out when things don't go exactly as planned or when our expectations are unmet. As time goes on, we realize that the uncertainty of college is what makes it great. Here are some helpful reminders about life in college.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Top 10 Lessons I Learned My Freshman Year

The first year of college opens your eyes to so many new experiences.

152
johnson hall
Samantha Sigsworth

Recently I completed my freshman year of college, and boy, what an experience. It was a completely new learning environment and I can't believe how much I learned. In an effort to save time, here are the ten biggest lessons I learned from my first year of college.

1. Everyone is in the same boat

For me, the scariest part of starting school was that I was alone, that I wouldn't be able to make any friends and that I would stick out. Despite being told time and time again that everyone had these same feelings, it didn't really click until the first day when I saw all the other freshman looking as uneasy and uncomfortable as me. Therefore, I cannot stress this enough, everyone is feeling as nervous as you.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments