Just to Get By

I love this song, "Get by" by Talib Kweli. Great groove and sage advice:

We smell the musk at the dusk
in the crack of the dawn,
We go through "Episodes II,"
like "Attack of the Clones",
Work 'til we break our back
and you hear the crack of the bone,
To get by... just to get by
Just to get by, just to get by.

We commute to computers,
Spirits stay mute while you eagles spread rumors,
We survivalists, turned to consumers,
Just to get by... just to get by
Just to get by, just to get by.

I ran into one of the working mothers at my son's daycare and we wound up talking about how tough it is to get by sometimes. Between a multitude of work stresses, bills, responsibilities and the weight of great expectations to improve one's career, it can be really hard to negotiate the limitations of adulthood.

So many of us are sold the idea via culture, marketers and self-help gurus that we can be anything, do anything and achieve anything. Frequently, reality does not match those expectations. You may work 50 hours a week at a stable job in your field, but that does not usually engender greatness or a large paycheck. It's hugely frustrating, especially when you set your sights as high as I have.

I'll admit that I am a visionary: I am rarely satisfied with the status quo. I'm always challenging myself to continually improve upon myself and my projects. However, I long for the day when I'm past all of the struggles of getting my projects off the ground and instead witnessing them soar. But how do I get there? How does the mother from my daycare climb the corporate ladder in a highly competitive field, while still raising a family? How do you get beyond just getting by?

The definition of "getting by" is also highly personal when it comes to employment and it's hard to know where you fit in on the lifetime hierarchy of success. Some people can't imagine making less than six figures to get by, while others are happy to even be employed at a fast food joint, like the following video of transgendered Timaya getting rejected to work at McDonalds.

She may be outrageous and make light of her situation, but the prejudices she faces are very real. You could argue that her over-the-top reactions are a result of the way many people have always treated her and denied her access to even the most modest of employment opportunities. She has to work ten times as hard as I do just to get by:



Ironically, I think Timaya Qaadir may be having the last laugh in her employment struggles because she has leveraged her individuality into a large following on YouTube and on her website.

Maybe that's what I need to focus on: by persisting and making the most of everything I have to offer creatively and professionally, and staying true to myself and my goals (73 more jobs to go!), I am much closer to getting beyond just getting by. I have found my reasons, like in the song:

This morning, I woke up
Feeling brand new I jumped up
Feeling my highs, and my lows
In my soul, and my goals
Just to stop smoking, and stop drinking
But I've been thinking - I've got my reasons
Just to get (by), just to get (by)
Just to get (by), just to get (by)

Find your truth and success will follow? Find your truth, live it, and you'll be happy with what you have?

Let me know what you think.

We're all getting by, together!


Aimee (Yeah, some days I'm philosophical.)