Doing What You Love

There's really something to be said for people who do what they do simply because they love doing it. I think the majority of the time, a person learns to like their occupation because it brings home a paycheck and because they do it everyday. You have to like what you do day in and day out or it will positively make you miserable (I know from experience!) but rarely do I think people start out doing something with an immediate love for their job. Not the case with my youngest brother CJ ~ 20 years old and set out on the unusual path of becoming a professional bass fisherman regardless of the stakes involved with such a choice. I mean, it's not cheap to fish this series of tournaments! There's entry fees, hotel, food, gas, plus equipment costs - rods, reels, lures, etc. I really admire CJ's willingness to stay at the cheapest hotels, eat crappy food, get minimal sleep, and endure cold/wind/rain/sleet/or extreme heat all in the name of doing what he loves; following his dream.

I went to the final day of the ESPN Bass Pro Bassmaster Northern Open #2 tournament in Detroit, MI to watch the last day of weigh-ins and I was literally bursting with pride when CJ walked across the stage with his bag of fish and came in 20th place out of 180! At 20 years old, he's probably one of the youngest who fishes in these professional tournaments, so he's competing against guys 2 and 3 times his age who have been fishing that much longer than him. It's not like other sports where there's a tight median age because people retire. Just makes me beam with sisterly pride at CJ's determination to forge ahead no matter the obstacles. Way to go little bro!