DJ Maya

Last weekend, I escaped to Tel Aviv to enjoy some sun and stare at the Mediterranean.  There is nothing more therapeutic than watching waves crash onto the sand.  The rhythm of the water  is good for the soul; the colors of the water are soothing for our brain; the sound of the water is good for our heart.   So I made sure to spend as much time as possible just staring at the sea.

It was one of those picture-postcard moments: gorgeous weather, the Mediterranean before me, and sick beats coming from the DJ booth.

I was really enjoying the music so I turned to give a thumbs up to the DJ… and was happily surprised to see a young woman at the turntables!

She had the biggest grin on her face and was loving life; serving up some sick beats,  laughing, schmoozing, and sipping a cava.  What a rockstar.

I had to say hello and tell her how much I was enjoying the music, the atmosphere, and her vibe.  We struck up a great conversation, and I asked her: “So is this your full time job?”

“No,” she said, “I started doing this on the side when I was still in college.  I love it so I just do it for fun on the weekends.”

“That’s awesome!” I said.  “What did you study in school?”
“Oh, I’m a lawyer,” she said sheepishly, adjusting her graffitied trucker’s cap.

“A lawyer?!” I exclaimed.  “Me too!”  We laughed some more, and I told her how I’m not really lawyer but now I make films, yada yada.  Turns out Maya’s really a lawyer; so legit in fact, that she made me promise not to reveal what kind on this blog.

Are we noticing a theme here?  Maya and her joie de vivre and side hustle made me think of my gal Elle Luna once again.   (See my previous post on The 100 Days Project.)  Elle’s book, The Crossroads of Should and Must, implores us to fill our days with our passions, even if that means living it beyond the 9 to 5.  We can create a reality in which we are living our “must” day in and day out.

Maya exemplifies leaving the “shoulds” behind and relishing in the “musts.”  She’s probably a kickass lawyer, and I’m sure she’s owning that, too; but seeing her hot-pink hat and shiny headphones reminded me that we are more than our paycheck, our inbox, or our stakeholders.  Finding and rejoicing in the musts  gives beauty and color to our lives – and that’s something to celebrate.