By Jan Vicente B. Pekas
A couple of months dipped in the college “experience” and I have to say that I am filled enough and would like to try other holes to dip in. Of course, any kid in an Asian household cannot possibly say that out loud. So, hopefully the mom will read this piece while I’m far away.
Looking back now, as I had done many times during school days when the task at hand was simply a hard one. All the reminders from the people around me about my future come to life. All those “naggings”, especially from elementary teachers about what do I want to be when I grew up, I find myself asking the same questions a lot of times recently.
Well, It wasn’t all undecided for me in my future job department, I looked really good as a cop in my kinder days. But as fast as a criminal getting chased, that dream quickly faded away.
A couple years passed by and the NCAE (National Career Assessment Examination) was in front of me. There were only a few of us taking the exam in school at that time, and it was certainly a profound experience to be sure, but it was the first time I did not give a damn about an exam. If I remember correctly, I was already late for that test, so all my energy went into calming myself down on the way to school, hoping not to get reprimanded severely.
I ended up treating the time as a resting period from the school subjects instead. It was a blast shading all the choices in such a short time even I was amazed. Doing all those, I wonder why I still got pissed when the results came and I was recommended to become a priest. Of course, no offense to all our lovely priests out there.
As a 19-year-old, I wonder if I had tried to run at my fullest, with no hesitation towards a dream that I truly believed in. The college route to success is one that most of us believe in. It is a path that many have taken before and have shown us the great results.
But what are our legs for but for chasing our dreams, playing, and running after girls, or men, or both.
As a late teen myself, perhaps I had a bit of a late start in that race, but as long as we live and breathe, the journey continues on our path to our dreams. No age can stop us nor should it ever slow us down. For the plans He laid down for us is simply too great.
Whether going down the college route or not, we have our own paths and challenges leading to success and greatness. And wherever we may be at the point in our lives, whether we feel like going around in circles or going nowhere, there is simply no shortcut and we must take our time.
There is only one path where we should go, not the ones laid down by others but the path in front of us, the road where we truly want to go, for it is the only one that exists.
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