So what do you do for a living? It’s not supposed to be a hard
question, but it’s not so easy to answer anymore. Jobs have become more
complicated and even previously easy answers like “doctor,” bring a host of opinions
and questions. It’s supposed to be an opener at cocktail parties but when we’re
asked, we cringe.
On Twitter, people have been giving examples of how such a simple
question causes them such grief. Tweeter @emilyhughes bemoaned how a simple statement like “I’m in book publishing” invites criticism
of the entire industry (which, last we checked, she was not single-handedly
responsible for). I’m sure the next questions is “can you read my manuscript?”
For @hels, people think food writer = restaurant critic (not necessarily the
same thing). But they already have their minds made up.
I can totally relate to this. If I tell people I’m a writer,
they think Hemingway. If I tell them no, I’m not novelist, I write for websites, they think "Blogger Who Hides in My Parents’ Basement" (only partially
true). “Content writer” leads to perplexed faces. I recently went to a party
and my elevator pitch of my job description was too confusing, led to an
awkward discussion of what it means and left people with no idea of what I
actually do. Then they just walked away.
“GO EAT A BEE” is now my go-to reply.
You’re twisting my words.
You really don’t get it, do you?
Frankly, I’m not sure what I do either.
Nevermind. You can just tell me what I do.
Or I’ll give you so much detail you just leave.
It may sound cool, but it’s not that cool.
Sorry, I’ll take my rage and go.
Them: “What do you do?”
Me: “Write stuff about other people’s tweets.”
Them: “That’s not a job.”
Me: “You are right about that.”
Them: "....."
Me: “Go eat a bee.”