I’ve been reading a book called “One Person/Multiple Careers: The Original Guide to the Slash Career (Volume 1)” by Marci Alboher. I can’t recall where I heard about it, but the concept was intriguing enough for me to buy it. Much of the book contains narratives of people leading “dual” lives. In some cases multiple career choices seem related, like the writer/public speaker, and for others they aren’t, as in the lawyer/minister or the programmer/theater director. The most encouraging part of their stories are the many ways in which everyone balances their slash careers—from working full-time on each career at the same time to concentrating on a single career during certain time periods to rotating each career until burnout sets in.

It got me thinking. My “day job” is in the computer world where I exercise the logic and methodical part of my personality. It’s very satisfying to solve a problem that makes other people’s jobs easier. But I have to admit it can also be tedious and a bit boring at times. Then I have my passion for photography. It won’t be paying the bills anytime soon, but fulfills me in a way that I can’t describe. I used to think that I had to make a choice. That if I wanted to be a photographer that I had to give up the day job. But, there are no rules. Why can’t I have both if they satisfy different parts of my personality? I don’t have to make money to be considered a photographer. It doesn’t have to be a career choice. And there’s a certain freedom in not depending on it for my financial security.

With that thought in mind I grabbed my camera, went to my local arboretum and happily spent the afternoon making pictures.