As the saying goes, those who are not idealists at 20 have no heart; those who are still idealists at 30 have no head.
Itll be interesting to see where Kai Nagata ends up on that spectrum.
Not even at the half-way point, the 24-year-old former CTV Quebec City bureau chief rose to notoriety after his 3,000-word blog post, Why I Quit My Job, attracted more than 100,000 readers within days of its posting in July. It launched him to prominence on blogs and editorial pages across Canada and the U.S.
Depending on where you stand, Nagatas manifesto on why toothless TV journalism wasnt the best use of my short life either ensconced him as the antihero of Canadian journalism or as the epitome of Gen-Y entitlement.
The East Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»native, however, contends hes just a guy in his 20s trying to figure out how to live a meaningful life, coming up with a few observations along the way. If he gets paid to do share them, so much the better.
Everything Im doing right now is because people have asked me, but I dont need to talk about my thoughts and feelings. I dont have a pathological need to share my interiority on my blog or stand in front of rooms of university students and tell them how I see the world.
Though that is precisely what hes doing at the moment. Talking to WE by phone from Montreal last week, Nagata was preparing for speaking engagements at several area universities. Tonight at SFU Woodwards, the freelance human and newly minted writer in residence for TheTyee.ca weighs in on whether TV journalism can be saved.
Its all part of engaging in what Nagata calls the public conversation the forum for exchange of ideas about Canadian policy and culture hes hoping to further through writing, speaking and plans for documentary projects.
After the blog post went viral, Nagata crossed the country in his Ford truck and had a good think about his life and goals. Now living in a tent in his dads backyard, he has a better sense of direction in his life, but is still coming to terms with the attention he drew with a one-off blog post. Really, all he did was sum up the human desire to find meaning in life and work, he says, a sentiment that cuts across all industries though perhaps not all generations.
All the people who are my age, they get it, he says, noting he bonded with hitch-hikers on his cross-country sojourn over their shared sense of mid-20s ennui.
But in quitting such a prominent post so publicly, Nagata seems to have waived his right to the youthful folly excuse most others his age are afforded when they make similar life choices.
For all the accolades and opportunities Nagatas received, his flagrant display of idealism that a fulfilling career is worth pursuing has raised the ire of critics who seem insulted by the ease with which he walked away from what had all the hallmarks of a promising career. The National Posts Jessica Hume, the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Couriers Sandra Thomas and Whistler-based reporter/blogger Jesse Ferreras have all penned rebukes. As recently as last week, Ferreras chided Nagatas speaking engagements as the magical mystery tour, holding him up as the poster child for a generation spoiled by the influence of reality TV bent on circumventing pay-your-dues convention.
As with his sudden rise to prominence, Nagata says hell leave it to the whims of the public to determine how long he should be stewarding the conversation. If it turns out journalism, or opining as the case may be, on his terms isnt in the cards, hell move on a long list of other options. At his age, hes unhindered by obligations to kids or a mortgage.
As soon as I feel like my contribution is spent or like Im done, then Im gone. Youll never hear from me again. Im literally free to do whatever I want now.
Perhaps, for Nagatas critics, therein lies the rub.
Kai Nagata speaks Sept. 22 at 7pm at SFU Woodwards Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema. Tickets: $10 from SFUWoodwards.ca.
