“Trash Talk” is a monthly column about life, the lessons learned along the way and some goofy connections between that and fantasy football. Now in her second season of fantasy football writing, Trash Sandwiches discusses the future in her career path and way-too-early fantasy football predictions.
Real Talk
“What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?”
As a kid, one of the most frequently asked questions is, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Adults are likely expecting one of the same common answers, like a doctor, firefighter, actor, something along those lines.
A study found that six in 10 Americans had childhood dreams of being a doctor.
But for many years, probably beyond what was considered reasonable, my answer never waivered; I wanted to be a cow.
Yes, the kind that goes “moo” and stands out in a field all day. Sounds like an idyllic lifestyle, right? Of course, my sister crushed my dreams as I grew up. And barring some wild technological advancements, it’s clearly not going to happen.
The years went on, and I had a few rotating whims of professions. They ranged from the less-practical artist aspirations to a farmer, the next best thing to being a cow, but nothing really stuck. In fact, even now that I’m “grown up,” I think I have less of an idea than ever, and that’s OK.
Broken Systems & Broken Flowers
When you think about it, it’s kind of messed up that we are constantly asking kids about this distant future.
Why not inquire about hobbies, interests, friends and things relevant to their life in that moment? Maybe it’s because adults don’t always know how to interact with kids (guilty!). But our society also places undue emphasis on what we do for work. It starts in childhood and continues through adulthood.
One of the most common questions when meeting other adults is, “What do you do for work?”
Yet, for all this emphasis, I rarely felt like I was provided good resources or support to figure it out. Maybe it’s a result of my small-town public school education, but I only remember one real opportunity from kindergarten through 12th grade to explore a career path that interested us.
In sixth grade, we were given one day to shadow a job in the community. Since I liked artsy-crafty things and was vaguely interested in following in my parents’ footsteps to own a small business, I chose to spend the day at a flower shop.
I had fun, sure, but it did nothing to help steer my future, although I have since learned (and seen firsthand) that small business ownership is too stressful, and I can cross that idea off the list. Mostly I just remember raiding the gorgeous flower trash bin for the best past-peak or broken flowers (This later became a regular activity through my pre-teen and teen years. After all, trash is in my name.)
Career Crushes & Finding “The One”
My only real career aspiration was one that I flirted with on and off from the very end of high school through college and even up until a couple of years ago. Actually, calling it a flirtation may sound too serious; it was more like a distant crush.
The specifics changed many times, but the idea of working in museums was one that kept flitting in and out of my brain. Yet every time I pursued it, something happened to give me pause.
Only three percent of a museum’s collection is typically on display at any given time.
I did museum courses and worked on a couple exhibits in college, but struggled to find what part of that process really resonated with me.
After graduating, I spent time at a few different cultural institutions. In all of those experiences, I felt continuously stymied by bureaucracy. Even just a couple of years ago, I briefly considered a career change and maybe grad school.
However, I was quickly scared away after reading some insider stories about systematic issues within the industry.
Sure, crossing more ideas off my metaphorical career list is a good start to figuring out what I want to be when I grow up, but it feels like the worst parts of dating. There’s the “getting to know you” phase of the job and a honeymoon period. But ultimately, I still haven’t found “the one.” That’s not to say that I’m unhappy with where I am or haven’t enjoyed the jobs I’ve held, but nothing has ever felt like my true calling.
But here’s the dirty little truth that I’m coming to realize: It doesn’t really matter.
What I Want To Be When I Grow Up
There were a couple of things that sparked my recent contemplations about my career past and present. One was a tropey enemies-to-lovers rom-com I read about two curators (it’s no surprise I’m a sucker for a sweet and kind-of-cheesy romance). Understandably, it got me thinking about the unknown, “what could have been if I chose a different path.”
The other fuse was a conversation with my sister. She recently came to a similar realization that I did when I left my stable future-facing job last fall: a job doesn’t need to define you or be a life-long career.
We don’t need to fulfill our life’s purpose in our work. We can find a suitable job for now, and what that means can change and evolve over time. It’s not easy to realize or internalize that idea, especially when society and your own mind often tell you otherwise. But it’s important.
Who I am is changing. It always has been and always will be, sometimes in big ways and other times incrementally. It’s totally fine to be content with the now instead of always looking to the next.
I’ve seen so many of my plans and predictions for the future take hard turns in other directions. Some of that was from my own choices, and sometimes it was things outside of my control (hello, global pandemic!). But I’ve learned that I don’t need to find fulfillment and purpose in my work. I can find it in the things I choose to fill my personal life with, like my hobbies, interests and friends.
So what do I want to be when I grow up? Happy.
Fantasy Talk
The Future, or Early Fantasy Football Predictions
The future is hard to predict, especially in the context of football. Fantasy football is essentially just making educated guesses and then hoping all the factors align in your favor. There’s talent, team, weather, injuries, opponents and so many variables.
Things don’t always pan out, but you have to take risks on the future to win. So while it’s still early in the offseason, here are a few way-too-early fantasy football predictions for 2023:
Chris Olave (WR, New Orleans Saints)
The Saints were generally a painful team to watch last year, limping to finish the season with a 7-10 record. Chris Olave, however, consistently stood out as a bright spot on the team. After being selected as the 11th-overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the expectations were fairly high for Olave in his rookie season, and he did his best to meet them, despite playing much of the season with Andy Dalton under center.
Chris Olave had two PPR WR1 finishes in 2022.
Olave ended the year with 72 receptions on 119 targets and racked up 1,042 yards and four touchdowns. He finished as the Points Per Reception (PPR) WR25.
That’s a solid-but-not-barn-burning performance for a wide receiver, and he hovered around or just outside WR2 territory by most metrics. But Olave really stood out among rookies. He had the second-most yards behind only Garrett Wilson (1,103 yards) and the second-most receptions and targets for a rookie.
On his team, Olave was also a clear favorite. His 119 targets equated to a monster 26.7 percent target share (15th in the NFL). For comparison, none of the other Saints’ wide receivers earned more than 39 targets. While the Saints are likely to add some more depth before the season begins, Olave should be locked in as the top dog. And with Derek Carr now under center for the Saints, the team will likely see an overall boost in production. My early fantasy football prediction is that Olave will build on the success from his rookie campaign and finish the 2023 season as a PPR WR1.
Jordan Love (QB, Green Bay Packers)
There are a lot of question marks around the Green Bay Packers’ future right now (very relatable). It seems all but guaranteed that they’ll trade Aaron Rodgers away, but there hasn’t been any real movement after nearly a month of growing rumors that he’s headed to the New York Jets. But all signs point to Jordan Love becoming the starting quarterback of the Packers, so the question then becomes what our fantasy football predictions are and whether Love makes a fourth-year leap.
Jordan Love was drafted in 2020 as the 26th overall player and fourth QB.
Now, calling this his fourth year perhaps paints an inaccurate picture. He basically redshirted his rookie season in 2020, which was the COVID-19-marred year with no preseason or chances for Love to get on the field.
He spelled Rodgers for a few games in 2021 but only had one start against the Kansas City Chiefs. It ended with a paltry 19 completions on 34 attempts for 190 yards and one touchdown. His completion percentage for the year was just 58.1 percent, and his passer rating was a low 68.7.
In 2022, Love improved his efficiency during his limited playing time. He only made 14 completions on 21 attempts and finished the season with just 195 yards total, but his completion percentage increased to 66.7 percent. His passer rating also went up to 112.2, which would have made him first in the league by that metric if he had kept up that rate over the full season.
Yes, that’s a big “if” and a lot of extrapolation from a very small data sample. But at this point in time, that’s all we really have to go off for Jordan Love. Despite the uncertainty around what’s happening with Rodgers, the Packers are content with Love as their starting quarterback.
General Manager Brian Gutekunst even said that he is “absolutely” ready. Love has spent the last few years learning and developing behind four-time NFL MVP Rodgers. And during his limited opportunities to play, he consistently improved.
Perhaps it’s a bit bold, but my early fantasy football prediction for Love is that he’ll end the season as a QB2, and he’s absolutely worth the risk at his current draft capital in the late rounds.
Thanks for reading my way-too-early fantasy football predictions! If you like my kind of trash, you can read more here and follow me on Twitter @trashsandwiches.