'Because it affords him the time to pursue other interests and activities.'

Gavin Aung Than, writing and illustrating on his site Zen Pencils:

Bill Watterson is the artist and creator of (in my humble opinion) the greatest comic strip of all time, Calvin and Hobbes. I was a bit too young to appreciate it while it was originally published from 1985-1995, but I started devouring the book collections soon after. I think my brother had a few of the treasury collections and I must have read those dozens of times. I was hooked, and I remember copying Watterson’s drawings relentlessly as a kid (Calvin’s hair was always the hardest to get right).

The quote used in the comic is taken from a graduation speech Watterson gave at his alma mater, Kenyon College, in 1990. Brain Pickings has a nice article about it. The comic is basically the story of my life, except I’m a stay-at-home-dad to two dogs. My ex-boss even asked me if I wanted to return to my old job.

This is another one of those cultural products that came along at exactly the right time in my life. I was familiar with the speech, but the story and illustration provided by Gavin had me weeping. You'll never forget reading this cartoon, I promise.