The past few years, I have fretted about how I’d be able to make money and succeed in this world. No news regarding employment or salary numbers has left me happy with settling for a standard office job.

That isn’t helped by the sight of most of my graduated friends stranded in internships, temporary positions or in search of a job. When the chance comes, they jump into a job, no matter what. So often it ends in boring lives of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. So why let your lives get to that? Follow your heart and do what you want.

So after a nice meeting with a former professional athlete, my sliver of hope to a happy life was slowly tearing open. A deal was struck to write a book.

And soon after that, I met more athletes, with more aspirations to write books. And it’s not about sports, but more about their lives and the ways to enjoy the opportunities that are granted to all of us.

And that’s kind of what I want this message to be. Make sure you do everything you can to make your life enjoyable. Don’t settle for a routine and get stuck in ruts.

Although I know I’m not going to make a large sum of money in my first several endeavors, I’ve decided to follow my dream — I’m on a pursuit of happiness.

I’ve had many conversations with my father and support system, and I know that I can try to make a living how I want to — for at least a couple of years.

Led by my idea generator — my brain, as I like to call it — confidence and abilities, I don’t see a reason I can’t reach my goals. I have five books — not just with athletes — that could and should be out in roughly 18 months.

I want to be consistently published in large publications in the future. I want to travel and write about those experiences.

I’m collecting freelance writing, design and editing jobs left and right, trying to scrape together enough money to make ends meet. And of course, that’s made exponentially easier by living at home with my parents.

And the settling for jobs amazes me. Granted, I haven’t been hired yet, but some jobs out there are amazing. I keep stumbling upon jobs I didn’t know existed, jobs that I wouldn’t mind doing for a living for a long period of time.

Although I realize I have a much firmer support base than many and a collection of partners and talents that allows me to choose this path, I still would be doing my best to do something I want to do.

So often you find people complaining about their jobs, about how it’s just another Monday or they can’t wait until the weekend. My goal in life is to avoid that. To make sure I’m not dreading work on Sunday night, to be happy on Saturday if I’m working.

Currently, I’m expecting to work six days a week, 12 hours a day for the first couple of years. And I’m not fretting about it. It’s what I want to do — the things I love to do.

College costs are climbing, loans are a pain. There can be an added pressure to find a job just to pay off the debts. And some parents don’t understand the idea of a dream. And while some people love crunching numbers and doing lots of repeated paperwork, most don’t.

One of the main reasons my dad is supporting my pursuit is because of his parents. They pressured him into finding a job. Now he’s in his 60s, trying to figure out whether or not he can justify finally doing something he would completely love doing.

One thing is certain, he gave me everything I could ever ask for to achieve my dream. I hope he does find something too.

I hope more MSU students find the ability to look for the support and realize their own dreams and reach for them. Life is too short to be stuck in a cubicle for most of it.

Pat Evans is the managing editor at The State News and a political science senior. Reach him at evanspa7@msu.edu.