As it is with everything
So here I am: sitting on a chair, typing in front of the computer, hoping to get a decent realization as I write. In the Ateneo, it has dawned upon me that a lot of students do not even know what they are going to become in the future. I could say that only the bio majors (Pre-med), and all the JGSOM graduates know what they want to do (anything that has something to do with business). Starting from the point that I stepped foot on the grounds of the Covered Courts for orsem, my life and the future of my life has already been mapped out. It starts with me struggling with my studies but succeeds in the end and then graduating after taking the NMAT. I will go into med school and then I get to become a doctor.
For some sort of reason, I have always taken comfort in the fact that I already had my life mapped out. I didn’t have the luxury of choosing and this was fine for me. Then, it hit me. I was somebody who didn’t have anymore major choices when it came to my career path. I was bound to be what my parents wanted me to be: the son that they wanted as a doctor. But it doesn’t end there. I always tell myself that it was what my parents wanted for me. They chose this path for me and I did not have a choice. So maybe, it was not entirely true. I must have wanted it somehow and I chose this myself. It just so happens that I have the convenient excuse of blaming my parents when things went for the worse. Still, at the core of it all, I wanted to be like this and it’s not that I do not have anymore choices left. Rather, I have chosen my path and I am in the middle of fulfilling this decision.
Having said that, I do not envy those who still have choices to make more, but it is those people who have already made their choices whom I envy the most. And when I say choices, it is making the choice that you know is right for you. These are the people who choose to do what they like as opposed to choosing what seems to be the most financially fulfilling. I do not condemn those who chose to be part of the business world because it was their choice and I am giving them the benefit of the doubt that they liked it anyway. For me, it does not follow that choosing the financially fulfilling path means the betrayal of oneself. It just so happens that there are more people who succumb to the pressures of society by choosing that path in exchange of the path they truly love and believe is right for them.
Three months ago, my brother was choosing what course best fit him in the Ateneo. He kept on choosing courses which were out of this world. It included Environmental Science, and Art Management. So you might have guessed that this rattled my brains a bit and I started telling him he was not making the right choices. Well fortunately, he did not follow me. I never thought that in a few months from that time, I would bring upon my brother the mistake that I have brought upon myself a few years back and it was the mistake of not choosing the course I liked the most. I wanted to be a marine biologist or a chef (Well, biology isn’t really marine biology so it doesn’t count). But the point is, it would have been less stressful for me trying to choose courses if I just went with what I wanted.
On a different note, I pity those who have to compromise their desires just to go with the flow. Most of my cousins have turned to taking up nursing courses. I don’t blame them because it was an easy way out of the problems of this country. Yet, I pity them because they have lost their hope and idealism. They have compromised everything and it resulted to them saying that they are starting to like nursing (meaning they hated it before). They have lost the only thing that separates them from the generation before them. They had to go with the flow because it was the most convenient choice. Again, I do not blame them at all. Nevertheless, it is not always about money it’s something more. Fulfillment from non-material things I should say.
So, I have finally made my stand and say that I support anyone (my children included… hehe) who chooses what he wants regardless of what the benefits of it would be. At the end of the day, choosing the path that we really want will make us most content. So I guess, we just have to envy the people who were brave enough to choose what they wanted… whatever it was. I hope that there will still be some people out there who would not lose hope even if it seems that it is hopeless. It just seems so but it is not. Call me an idealistic, hopeful fool but at least, I am idealistic and hopeful. And that is what keeps me moving on. And to those who are still having a hard time deciding what to do with their lives, as it is with everything else (academics, relationships, religion, etc.) just choose what you love and it will all fall into place.
For some sort of reason, I have always taken comfort in the fact that I already had my life mapped out. I didn’t have the luxury of choosing and this was fine for me. Then, it hit me. I was somebody who didn’t have anymore major choices when it came to my career path. I was bound to be what my parents wanted me to be: the son that they wanted as a doctor. But it doesn’t end there. I always tell myself that it was what my parents wanted for me. They chose this path for me and I did not have a choice. So maybe, it was not entirely true. I must have wanted it somehow and I chose this myself. It just so happens that I have the convenient excuse of blaming my parents when things went for the worse. Still, at the core of it all, I wanted to be like this and it’s not that I do not have anymore choices left. Rather, I have chosen my path and I am in the middle of fulfilling this decision.
Having said that, I do not envy those who still have choices to make more, but it is those people who have already made their choices whom I envy the most. And when I say choices, it is making the choice that you know is right for you. These are the people who choose to do what they like as opposed to choosing what seems to be the most financially fulfilling. I do not condemn those who chose to be part of the business world because it was their choice and I am giving them the benefit of the doubt that they liked it anyway. For me, it does not follow that choosing the financially fulfilling path means the betrayal of oneself. It just so happens that there are more people who succumb to the pressures of society by choosing that path in exchange of the path they truly love and believe is right for them.
Three months ago, my brother was choosing what course best fit him in the Ateneo. He kept on choosing courses which were out of this world. It included Environmental Science, and Art Management. So you might have guessed that this rattled my brains a bit and I started telling him he was not making the right choices. Well fortunately, he did not follow me. I never thought that in a few months from that time, I would bring upon my brother the mistake that I have brought upon myself a few years back and it was the mistake of not choosing the course I liked the most. I wanted to be a marine biologist or a chef (Well, biology isn’t really marine biology so it doesn’t count). But the point is, it would have been less stressful for me trying to choose courses if I just went with what I wanted.
On a different note, I pity those who have to compromise their desires just to go with the flow. Most of my cousins have turned to taking up nursing courses. I don’t blame them because it was an easy way out of the problems of this country. Yet, I pity them because they have lost their hope and idealism. They have compromised everything and it resulted to them saying that they are starting to like nursing (meaning they hated it before). They have lost the only thing that separates them from the generation before them. They had to go with the flow because it was the most convenient choice. Again, I do not blame them at all. Nevertheless, it is not always about money it’s something more. Fulfillment from non-material things I should say.
So, I have finally made my stand and say that I support anyone (my children included… hehe) who chooses what he wants regardless of what the benefits of it would be. At the end of the day, choosing the path that we really want will make us most content. So I guess, we just have to envy the people who were brave enough to choose what they wanted… whatever it was. I hope that there will still be some people out there who would not lose hope even if it seems that it is hopeless. It just seems so but it is not. Call me an idealistic, hopeful fool but at least, I am idealistic and hopeful. And that is what keeps me moving on. And to those who are still having a hard time deciding what to do with their lives, as it is with everything else (academics, relationships, religion, etc.) just choose what you love and it will all fall into place.