childhood dreams

It has been a tradition in my alma mater that during our kindergarten graduation we would each walk up to the microphone and say the famous line, "When I grow up..."

Except I guess for those who stated the professions of their parents and did end up pursuing those paths, I very much doubt any of us at six or seven had any idea what would happen to us in fifteen years.

I very much remember myself saying in my little dress... "When I grow up I want to be an artist", which probably was the automatic choice for someone who drew a lot on the blackboard.

But at least I still stayed on the creative career path.

And so I became an architect. (Technically, not yet. But I'm more or less a practising one.)

If I had been anything else but, my life would have been very much different. But I'm grateful nonetheless.

If I weren't an achitect I would have gone where the rest of my siblings have gone -- business, management, economics. I would have gone to Ateneo definitely instead of UP. (I convinced myself before that if Ateneo had BS Architecture I would have surely gone there.)

But I'm glad that I went to UP. I met a bunch of interesting people. Didn't have to care too much about the way I looked. Didn't have to care that my handphone wasn't the latest model. I learned to ride the jeep. Eating in the carinderia because usual. I learned to become practical. Learned to become humble. Learned to interact with people from different backgrounds. Learned to be more independent.

If I didn't pursue architecture I wouldn't probably have had the opportunity of working overseas. Wouldn't have learned to be much more independent -- socially, financially. I wouldn't have experienced things that I never imagined I would be able to do so soon. I wouldn't have been able to visit three countries in a span of six months. Wouldn't have travelled at all, mainly due to financial constraint. But my priorities would have been all different.

One choice could definitely change your life. Fate. Destiny.

That choice has opened up my future to endless possibilities.

So maybe I'll be changing career paths one day (probably in the not-so-distant future) but I am enjoying architecture while I'm still practising it. I'm trying to absorb all that I could learn.

Maybe I'll end up doing things that other people could do -- like business -- but at least I still benefitted and am still benefitting from my first career choice. I'm building memories. I'm building a foundation -- spiritually, emotionally, financially.

So about childhood dreams... I don't think we'll ever stop dreaming. It's always nice to have something to look forward to right?

So for my never-ending dreams, I'm working on them and I think I'm getting there.