“If you find a job you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.”

It’s a phrase I’ve heard many times over, and until recently it seemed impossibly simple and easily attainable.

I mean, honestly, would you rather be the guy who dreads walking into the office every day, or the guy who looks half his age and laughs at the stressed out drones on his ride home? Seems like an easy choice to me.

Just ask yourself, “What am I good at that I enjoy doing?” and then go do it. For some, it’s video games and Spiderman comics. For others, it’s pie charts and data graphs. For me, it’s writing.

English is the only course in school I’ve always been guaranteed an “A” in with little to no effort. Writing is as easy as breathing, and so far, those who read what I vomit onto the page seem to enjoy it.

However, this is a two step process; the second being that you need to find someone willing to pay you for doing what you love. This is proving to be far more difficult for people like me as the decline in print media has sent newspapers and journalists spiraling.

Don’t believe me?

According to data from The Atlantic, circulation for multiple major newspapers dropped significantly between 2000 and 2010. The Los Angeles Times’ circulation dropped by about 39 percent, while The Daily News’ circulation dropped by about 32 percent. These two newspapers had the most significant drop of the five publications presented.

Many papers are closing, many journalists are out of work, and no one can agree on where it’s all going.

So now I have to make a choice between financial security into the foreseeable future and doing what I love.

It’s not a decision to take lightly. Should I choose to make money rather than pursue my dream, the hipsters would call me a sell-out and the idealists would chastise me for giving up on my dreams. The ghost of Christmas past would show up to remind me of my mistakes and I’ll adopt a little boy named “Smaller-than-normal Tim.”

However, my future children would be fed and my bank account would be flush. I’d be able to buy a nice house and a car, maybe go on a nice Italian cruise once in a while and see the coastline from much closer than I had intended.

But if I’m not happy, how can any of those things be worth it?

Looks like I’ll have to be poor and out of work for a while as I chase the dream. Here’s to knowing what you’re worth and fighting for it tooth and nail. Cheers.