Last week I went out one evening, to drink some micro brew beer and meet some friends. At some point in the evening we talked about one guy we all know. He got married last fall and started working for a Swiss bank (in a low position, but with still a high wage compared to our student wages). Two guys in our group thought of him as being successful, while I silently disagreed.
To me, in my situation, this would mean failure (and I really don't want to step on any ones toes here, I am just speaking of myself. I love my independence.). And since this conversation I could not stop thinking about success, and what it means to different people.
I don't have a definite answer even for myself, as I see my definition of success change with my changing lifestyle, but these are a few ideas I came up with.
♥ Doing work that has a purpose.
♥ Earning enough money to be able to live comfortably.
♥ Working not too much, so I can enjoy this comfortable life.
♥ Putting thought and effort into the small things, because ultimately they are what makes us happy.
♥ Having honest and open relationships with friends and family.
♥ And right now, making a delicious crumble with things I have on hand.
But before I share this recipe with you, what do you consider success?
Apple Rhubarb Crumble
adapted from Super Natural Every Day, by Heidi Swanson
85g whole wheat flour
2 tbsp black sesame seeds
45g rolled oats
70g natural cane sugar
2/3 tsp salt
70g melted butter
1 tbsp cornstarch
45g sugar
1 pound fruit (more or less, I used about 400g rhubarb and two apples)
about 4 tbsp white wine (I used a cava I had opened the day before)
Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
Measure out all the dry ingredients and mix them together. Add the melted butter. Stir to mix the butter in, then form 3 patties out of the mixture and freeze them until you use them.
Chop the fruit and put it in a bowl. Add the cornstarch and mix well. Let sit for a minute, then add the sugar. Let sit for a few minutes before you add the wine. Stir, then pour the fruit mixture into a baking dish. Take the topping out of the freezer and crumble it over the fruit. Leave some bigger chunks, too.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the bottom bubbling.
Serves 6-8.
It's always a bit difficult to nail down what you consider successful and to stand by that when it doesn't match the definition others around you have. I'm still trying to figure it out personally. Love this crumble by the way. Rhubarb is one of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteOh so interesting... I've been thinking about this a lot lately. And to me, I would consider that guy a success if he were able to live in switzerland for the job! I guess I am more of the kind that really doesn't think of success (not sure if this is bad or good). Sometimes I see jobs as a means to an end--especially if it's something that gets you to live overseas, like your friend. But ultimately, I guess, I just really want to understand the world around me (but I know I don't have to find that through a job necessarily). Oh it's so complicated, isn't it! Good for you for disagreeing though, I often have this battle with my older sister who works at google and who feels like she has "made it" and that I should achieve such "success" too. I think, like you, I'm more interested in making sure my relationships are honest and real, enjoying a life that ISN'T work, and noticing the little (and big) things are more important. Just out of curiosity, Lena, what's your major?
ReplyDeleteHaha, sorry for so much writing. Speaking of the crumble-- I love how you paired the rhubarb with apple, and now I'm wondering why I've never tried that before. Also, I love the black sesame seeds in the crumble. Beautiful!
(Just to clarify, he [and I] were born in Switzerland, I would love to be able to go abroad to work)
DeleteI study Science of Religion as my major and English Language and Literature as my minor. What do you do?
And I totally agree with the jobs as a means to an end. I don't really want it to be this way all my life, but right now it is quite okay.
Oh wow, I didn't know you were born in Switzerland. Wait... I am sorry if I sound completely spacey, but are you still there going to school? That would explain all the trips to Germany/Spain and whatnot. I assumed you were from the States (how egocentric of me!) but that would make a lot of sense. And I'm studying politics, with a minor in economics. It might be important to note that I have no intentions of becoming a politician, haha.
DeleteI still live here (and perhaps I need to put that in a more prominent place, I thought it must be completely obvious), and yes that would explain my constant travelling here. I could not afford to go overseas all the time.
DeleteI know other people studying politics, and none of them has intentions of becoming a politician. (And perhaps I really need to start telling people, when they ask what I am going to do with THIS?, that I want to become an Englishwoman)
Important question, Lena--one that's more or less in the background for me all the time. I'm in my second year of my PhD right now, so I still have a ways to go, but if I'm lucky, I'll end up with a tenure-track philosophy position somewhere in North America. I'm not sure how things are in Europe since whole academic system is different, but it is becoming very difficult to land a permanent position. There are just a lot of graduate students, I guess. Anyway, getting a position like that is important to me in some sense, since I'll have spent at least five (but realistically, more like seven) years of my life dedicated to this work. But even more important to me, I think, is being a successful philosopher. Having a permanent position would be nice, but I don't want to be the kind of academic who spends her career publishing in silly collections like Philosophy and Star Wars. I'd want to contribute something to the field. I don't think there's point in spending your life in the academy unless your work comes to something, and that comes down to a mix of talent and hard work. So sometimes I wonder whether I should be where I am. Being a mediocre philosopher is not much of an achievement, but at least as a mediocre doctor, I'd probably be able to make some sort of difference in people's lives. But this is just me at my most pessimistic...
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I like the idea of your crumble. I will definitely have to try adding sesame seeds to the next one I make.
I can really relate to the last feeling you speak of. Working/studying in a field that is not per se helping anyone can be a bit difficult at times. And it is in those times that I feel kind of bad about recieving an almost free education (you have to pay almost no semester fees in Switzerland, the rest is paid by the government/taxes).
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