The Future I Wanted for My Son

I couldn't sleep last night again. I was thinking about Miggy and his future. He had finished his schooling and was about to start a new phase when the pandemic happened. I gave him the independence he wanted so he could learn the ropes. I did that after I graduated and I was adamant about making my own career decisions. 

I had a lot of challenges growing up. Our generation missed a lot of school because of protests, the EDSA revolution, coup d'etats and typhoons. We oftentimes didn't have electricity at night so I had to do my homework by candlelight. It was a small sacrifice compared to what my parents went through, war and martial law. 

I told myself I'll work hard to make it easier for my son. I was hopeful he could have better opportunities in his future. I wanted him to be able to do whatever he wanted. I realized that after you graduate from school there's really a lot you can do. I plotted my path carefully and thought that was what I would do forever. I later on realized that it is a huge, huge world and there are a lot of things you can do. 

And since I had the opportunity to help pave a different future for my son, I worked really hard to contribute programs that would benefit a lot of people. I developed communities, introduced new technologies and also got to work on crisis response. The work paid off and I saw how it helped others and how it benefited a lot of aspects. I was happy because I felt it would provide a nice baseline for Miggy to work on. 

The landscape has certainly changed especially in the last two years. A lot of people would ask me how come I allowed Miggy to go back home after finishing his schooling in Singapore. He wanted to do his thing back home. I did not have it in my heart to keep him from growing. I cannot help but be worried though. What would his future look like now that things are stalled because of the pandemic? What will happen to the younger generation who are cooped up at home? 

We can certainly work on things that we can control (the micro-level). It would be immensely helpful also if the macro-level would be in order too. I can just hope and pray that my prayers for a better future for us and our country will be answered. 

CB////*Yr2/183 #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/204 #NewG264 #Home23 #Xmas75 #StayHome #BeKind

My Dream Job When I was a Child

There's a meme going around asking people what you wanted to be when you were a child. This got me thinking and I was amazed at how my interests swung from one thing to another when I was growing up. 

I do remember when I was in elementary school I wanted to be an architect. I was four years old when I got my first Lego set. Back then Lego sets were just a collection of Lego pieces. They left it to your imagination to build things. I remember building different types of houses and I was always fascinated about home layouts. I guess that was why I wanted to become an architect. It didn't happen because I lacked the drawing skills (although my niece pointed out that it requires more technical drawing). I did live this dream a bit when I helped my Mom in her export business. 

Frowning even as a child, I was never into sports. 

Eventually my interest changed and I wanted to be an archeologist/anthropology. I got interested in it when we started learning about Asian civilizations in history class. I wanted to discover more about old civilizations, how they looked, how they lived, what their culture was about. It was a cross between archeology and anthropology. My parents though were quite concerned and had me talk to Tito Ed who explained to me more about the field. I got a lot of pressure not to pursue it. My passion for history remains at a personal level, my family and friends always go back to me when they need old photos and past information (lol). I also binge watch on shows related to this topic. 

My Dad was grooming me to become a lawyer and I ended up getting degrees in Political Science and Legal Management. Midway through my LM degree I realized that becoming a lawyer wasn't for me. Needless to say my professors were also disappointed I did not pursue it. It would have tied up nicely with my third dream job - to be the mayor of my city! I would have been on that path because I was being recruited to run for office when I was in university. Of course, Mom got in the way and that fizzled out. 

It's funny thought because all the things I wanted to do I'm in a way doing now at my current job. It's not what I envisioned I would be, but I think I'm where I should be right now. And that's what's important. Whatever degree or job you get, your childhood dream will always be there and it's up to you how you define your mission in life.

What about you? What was your childhood dream job?

CB//198 #StuckAtHomeDay/228 #WFH135 #StayHome #BeKind