I used to be the king... of burger king

My grandfather's hands are much more crooked but have a very similar look to the ones at right. It signifies the work that my family has done for generations; construction. My father is a plumber, my grandfather was a plumber, electrician & woodworker, my great grandfather was a plumber, my uncle is a plumber, my other uncle is a plumber, my other uncle owns a company building shelters, 3 of my cousins are in construction. We build things.

I used to build things, but like my brother (the first male in our extended family to graduate college), I've started choosing the path towards office jobs, and administrative work. Although my summer job is working as a youth assistant for my church, I still find myself craving the feel of tools in my hand, and enjoyment of a cold shower after a long day sweating in the heat.

And so often times I find myself questioning the idea of a career in Engineering. Engineering isn't even that bad, since a decent amount of it is actually putting your ideas into a physical form, but still. I see all these engineering students who came from families of thinkers and college attendees and question. And although when I hear the word "engineering" and I really don't understand the kind of jobs people do, I understand the skills needed and design steps to create a product. In these things I feel gifted, and wasting them would be foolish. In the same way that Will Hunting could have wasted his gifts.

And so I do miss the trips to Burger King for lunch, in which paint, caulking and sawdust seem to cover every inch of your clothes. It was in these moments where the old and the wise would look upon you and say things like "you a painter?", and after explaining my position at the factory he would nod, smirk and say something along the lines of "sounds like hard work, keep it up." He made me feel more like a king than any bonus, pay raise or positive product review will... but I hope I'm wrong.