John B, 25, is a recent graduate of the University of Toronto who works as a barista at a local downtown coffee shop frequented by Bay St. bankers. He says the job is demanding, but putting in hours roasting coffee beans is worth it — it means he can afford to do what he loves. John, who graduated with a major in Fine Art and History, works as an unpaid intern at the Art Gallery of Ontario. I recently met up with him at his apartment just up the street.
"Life is about sacrifices and tough choices you know," he tells me as he pours me a cup of ginseng tea. A Humans of New York book lays on the coffee table, half open. A bamboo plant decorates the corner of the room that is otherwise quite bare. "But, it's like psychology shows, those who delay gratification will win in the end." I sip my tea and take notes.
He adjusts his glasses and continues. "This week for example – I spent $100 at Longo's. I really wanted this fine cheese too. But I asked myself. John, do you really need this fine cheese? Can you do without it? It's about asking yourselves those tough questions when making everyday purchases."
He stops, takes a sip of his tea and sighs. He goes on to tell me what else he bought that week. A motivation journal from Indigo for $29.99, because, as he put it "you need to keep track of your goals and hold yourself accountable," wine from the LCBO for $35, trips on Uber for $44, drinks from Starbucks for $22.95, a new Macbook charger for $110 and a zucchini pasta maker for $19.95 (it was on sale, he adds).
At the coffee bar, John makes about $15,000 a year working six hour shifts for four days a week. He spends the rest of his time at his internship at the AGO, or working on his personal art projects. He adds later on in the interview, that his parents who live in the leafy streets of Rosedale provide him with a generous support of $40,000.
"My parents know about sacrifices and how hard it is. So they try to help me out."
He stops and stares at the corner of the room intently. "Hold on," he says as he gets up to adjust the bamboo plant that is slightly wilting. "Sorry about that," he continues "had to fix that, pretty sure it's not good for the feng shui of the room."
We are coming to the end of the interview. "Anything else you'd like to say?" I ask him. He pauses and then nods.
"Whenever I have to make hard choices in life, like when I had to forgo that fine cheese for example, I think about my inspirations like Jean-Michel Basquiat and how they would have had to make such sacrifices for their art."
"Do you think Jean-Michel Basquiat received $40,000 from his parents?"
"Yes, he must have."
And with that, I leave the apartment thinking: "If John can pursue what he loves on such a spare budget, surely we can too."
The preceding was satire. Abdullah Shihipar is a 20 something student at the University of Toronto studying Cell and Molecular Biology, Psychology and American Studies. He enjoys coffee, complaining and listening to DJ Khaled's motivational speeches.
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