Resume vs. photo album

I had a bit of an epiphany as I was driving along a couple days ago. I realized that I have been viewing the course of my life as if it were a resume. I have been listing my accomplishments and always coming up short. I have never had what I would consider a career job and have only had one job (at the furniture store) that I even liked very much. Therefore I wasn't feeling "accomplished." I really like to accomplish things. I love projects, and I love for everyday to look like I have done something. That means in the mundane, meaningless times, I have to work really hard to stay positive.
I think that if the opportunities had opened up that I thought I wanted, I would ended up working in a job that might sound like what I want but not really be it. I thought I wanted to be the buyer for the furniture store and I know there are things that I could really enjoy about it, but there are a lot of things that just aren't me. It took me a long time to realize that. (much longer than my husband) I think one reason is I felt the need to go with the more defined route of a "real" job and because I didn't know what it felt like to be in an environment that suited me.
My epiphany came because the buyer position sort of opened up and I sort of missed it and I realized that I didn't miss it at all and that wasn't really what I wanted anyway. And I'm not saying that to make myself feel better. Now that I have had a taste of things I love-art school, teaching art, freelance work, painting houses...I am finally getting to live in the environment I always wanted.
I realize that I have to stop looking at my life like a resume. I am not out to find the perfect job. I am an artist, I will create as I go and the more tools I have in my belt, the better the end result.
I decided in that moment that I want to look at my life like a photo album. I want to remember all those really cool things that make up my life whether it be related to a job or not. I want to remember my experiences and my projects. I want to see my life in pictures, not titles.

"Successful people are able to see the threads of the past & threads of the future and and untangle them into something manageable" Seth Goden, Linchpin