Either Or

If you had to spend the rest of your life as a deckhand on a ship or as a librarian at a prestigious university, which would you choose?

There are some major details that would impact your decision. What sort of ship is it? What work does it do? Is it a competitive sailing ship? Is it a historic ship mainly docked in one port? Is it one of those super-massive cargo ships with a mostly Pilipino crew? Where is the university located? Would you be a research librarian? Would you focus on preservation and restoration? What’s the campus environment? Is it an Ivy League or more geared toward the sciences?

Let’s say it’s like the ship in the picture. It’s a sailing vessel that isn’t used for piracy but is used for either competition or business. It doesn’t spend most of the year in port. The library is for an Ivy League school in New England. You can choose your particular specialization.

The ship presents constant adventure. The crew would mostly stay the same but you’d always be going to new places, meeting new people, seeing new sights. Any place that’s ‘home’ would only be seen a brief part out of the year. You’d have to deal with potential cabin fever and always being stuck in the same small patch of world with the same crew but you could go anywhere. There’s also a greater risk for disaster: storms, damage to ship, viruses. All of that has to be dealt with using limited resources if you’re at sea and the sea is a harsh mistress.

The plus is the gorgeous expanse of open ocean full of exotic creatures like whales, sharks, flying fish and giant squids. If you don’t want to deal with a particular season, you can spend it somewhere else. If you know a storm is coming, you can find dock at a safe harbor and make for land. You come to love and hate and depend on your crew. They’ll become the closest thing you have to family.

The library you’re surrounded by some of the greatest works and greatest minds the world has to offer. You can get up close with historic and valuable books. You would have to deal with the everyday responsibilities of rent, food, and bills. You get to deal with interoffice pettiness and elitist students basking in nepotism. You have to deal with all four season worth of weather.

The plus is that you can help some of the best minds in the world. You can aid in PhD research, help guide new students to their passion, watch someone go from frustrated grad student to Nobel laureate. You can take advantage of all the sports, concerts, comedians, and great events you get on college campuses at cost. You have access  to some of the greatest selection of literature around. Having a job you enjoy, you get to put down roots and make a real home. Anchor yourself to people and places, make the university town your town.

I love the idea of nonstop adventure but the reality sounds somewhat exhausting. I would have a very hard time being rootless. I like having a home, friends, a life centered around one great place. Sometimes I really enjoy the quiet of everyday life.

Life on a ship could be like Firefly where you have some dull days and other days where you barely make it out alive. People enjoy escaping into that adventure but few could actually live it for long. Maybe that’s why The Doctor never has any companion for too long. Most people like having a home, seeing their family, going to places where they know your name.

Current Music: Happy in My Heartache by Josh Groban