Perplexed

Sometimes I am perplexed with the human race, specifically the American culture. Why is it we insist upon working 40 or more hours a week, 50 weeks a year, for 45 years of our lives? For instance, in most European countries, it is normal to take a 6 week vacation every single year. Here in America, even after working our asses off our entire lives, we still will only have those 2 measly weeks.
We are work-alholics. We spend the majority of our lives at work. Not with loved ones, family, friends, children, or our hobbies. AT WORK.
Yet I have met very few people who actually enjoy what they do. In fact, I often think of what I am doing with my life. I will be graduating in December with a Bachelor's degree in Financial Management. I chose this career for the most ridiculous reasons ever. At first, I picked it because of the salary. The #1 salary is Accounting. I hate accounting with a passion, so I chose the second highest salary, which turned out to be Finance. It just so happened that Finance comes very easy to me. I understand it, I can easily do things that most people find hard, and I enjoy organizing numbers and financial ratios.
So, now that I am graduating in less than a year, I have to start my "real" life. I will start working a job somewhere crunching numbers, making loans, analyzing companies, and forecasting sales. Will I enjoy this?
NO
I'm the type of person who craves change. I live for different experiences, places, and people. Routine is just not my style. I will not be working this field for the rest of my life. I can guarantee this much. In fact, I don't believe I will last 10 years doing this.
So why do I go on? Why don't I do something I love? Because I have to PAY for what I love. I need money to do things I enjoy. I will not get paid otherwise.
I spend at least 5 hours a day reading and writing. I would love to write books and poetry and write reviews of other people's work. Also, if I had a choice, I would spend another 8 hours a day skiing. Yet there is not way imaginable to be able to do this. I must put myself through torture of working for the rest of my life doing something that I really won't be enjoying.
So if I seem pessimistic about graduating and my future, I think I have reason. Just because I'm good at something and get paid a lot doesn't mean that I'll be happy. I should move to England and be a pauper.