Something for the social misfits

Have you ever had one of those 'life revealing' moments, where someone says something that you've always known was true but it didn't really sink in until it was lain bare before you?

That moment happened to me last week. In a surreal moment out of my most unmemorable dream, the truth cut through to me in under a minute. I felt like I'd literally been hit by a ton (or more!) of bricks.

What was said summed up my life, and it was spat out like poison by an individual who has perhaps weathered as many tribulations as I have.

Although the actual exchange is now a blur, it went along the lines of:
"The fact that you and I are here (out clubbing) on a Saturday night proves that we're social misfits. Those people that have a five-day work-week at Shenton Way or Raffles Place will be at home with family or friends. They fit into society as they do what society views as normal. We don't have a 'proper' job and we do things differently. We're social misfits, we don't fit in."

I suddenly thought about my friends who hold 'safe' jobs (managers, doctors, lawyers, nurses, CEOs, directors etc), who are married and perhaps has a kid by the time they are 30. They probably draw a comfortable salary at the end of the month, live in a well-furnished apartment/flat that they call their own, and are probably happy doing that every day of their life.

There's nothing wrong with that. There was a time when I sold my life and soul to the social system, working more than five-day work weeks. But now that I've gotten out of the system, I can't see myself going back in again.

True, I don't have what you call an ideal job that pays S$5,000 a month and I'm single without plans to get married in the next three years or have kids in the next 10 years (the Singapore government's current worse nightmare!). But I think I lead a life that I'm personally happy with.

These are my choices, as it is my life. Yes, I'm a social misfit, and I celebrate that.