Interested in what the images on the interwebs would portray, I typed in "make a living" into Google images. Most images did not have much to do with what I was talking about, but what I found with the few that did was the common theme of money. It makes sense, even to me, to think about "making a living" as "getting money", but when I grow up and "make a living" I'd really stick a different definition to that. And most likely not even use that phrase. The idea that I am just "making" this life sounds like I am taking a recipe out of a generic cookbook.
1. Go to school
2. Get a degree
3. Get a job
4. Make money
5. Start a family
6. Make more money
7. Retire
I am all for the idea of life being a "construction", but I feel like the construction is very individualized. My "making a living" would include getting a degree, finding a good job, but the manner at which it is done seems different than this robotic idea. If I take a year to relax, to do something that interests me; or if I am interested in something with little job opportunities and am just happy the way I am, so be it; or if I go out of order of this original "recipe", that's that. And I believe that's how many people I know think. What do we strive for? Well happiness of course! But the pressure is on from society for us to just go and"make a living!" It can't be that hard, right? But with the pre-determined connotations it brings it makes our mindset stuck on that one item, money. If we don't have money, we are not successful people. Which I do not find true at all.
I think that many people are able to look past the formulaic process you described above. I think that there is no problem with having the term "make a living." To me, analyzing this quote the way we have would be like looking at "bringing home the bacon" and concluding that our society favors pork to chicken. I think we are reading too deeply into a common colloquialism.
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