Paying the Bills & Staying True to Yourself

I just had a wonderful chat with my sister over the phone. She lives in South Korea, so we haven't seen each other in over a year and I miss her terribly. I've been conflicted with decisions about my future lately. School and careers... ugh. Everyone who's older than me keeps telling me to stay with nursing, and I’m not sure whether they’re right or not. It was really nice getting to talk out my frustrations with her. Although we're 12 hours and thousands of miles apart, I felt as if she was sitting here with me, venting and laughing, like we did when we were younger. Cheesy, I know, but boy was it nice to have a lending ear. The nice thing about having a sister is the "knowing me inside and out" without explanations, like the ones you have to give with friends. Friends are great but sisters are even better. At least, this one is. So here it is, what the conversation was about and what her advice was.
I love to read, I mean REALLY love to read. I always have and always will. Authors always talk about how long and hard the road to getting a book published can be and if it wasn't for that one editor or publisher, then that book wouldn't have made it.
Wuthering Heights is my favorite book ever written and to think if whoever received that manuscript didn't give it their time, then it wouldn't have been apart of my life. I'm not an author, but I still want to have a small part of that affect on someone. So naturally, I thought- wouldn't it be great to be an editor or publisher? I would still have a hand in the creation of books, behind the scenes- of course, but still- I would have a chance to help someone affect someone else's life. Sounds great, right? Well, at least, I think so. The thought of taking home five or six manuscripts on the weekends, and spending hours reading through them, giving that author and that story a chance was intriguing. That to me, was it. The answer to what I wanted to do... until life came into the equation.
"Go into teaching or nursing," everyone says. "It pays the bills..." "With nursing you'll always have a job..." "You'll have retirement and health insurance..." But should I live my life by what pays the bills? That is the question I've been facing.
Then, recently I met an author (yes, I blogged about it, already) and when she asked me what I was going to school for, I told her I was going into nursing, or possibly, I would like to be an editor or publisher. Her response, "Stay with nursing, it pays the bills." My reaction- I was disappointed. I guess I had the hopes that she would tell me to follow my heart, to do what I already know I love and if that is the book business (even if you may not always be making the big bucks) then do it. But- she didn't.
So, what do I do? That is the question I asked my sister tonight. And this is what she told me- "Do what you love and you will be successful in life. Trust me, if you do, then not only will you be successful... you'll be able to pay the bills."
I love you, sis!