Looking at the On This Day pictures brought back many memories. 13 years ago I was hanging out with the gang at Dempsey. 11 years ago I was spending summer in Hong Kong. 10 years ago I was lamenting on how I had no more friends in school since everyone had graduated the past semester. 8 years back there was a photograph of my first long term real job and 3 years back a video of work and how my work allowed me to start work later because England was playing someone during the World Cup. Fast forward to today, I am still rooting for England to win Euro 2020.
These memories inspired a thought – Am I far from what I thought life would be?
Many moons ago I wrote a blog post and I talked about how I would imagine my ideal life would be like. Marketing job, drinks and dinner with friends at night, had my own apartment with a partner. Kids after 30. To be honest I didn’t put much thought in it, or took steps to achieve it.
Now if this is a checkpoint where I grade myself through an imaginary scorecard, I must say that firstly, I got where I wanted to in terms of my job. I got to try several industries and it seems like I have some autonomy to do what I want in terms of creativity. I also had/have opportunities to meet some important people and have unique experiences.
Life wise, I think I did pretty good by having kids young. Though they contribute to my general angst that probably is not ideal, but I am trying my best to be more zen. I do not like sharing my house with other people, but that is something that I have to tolerate for the foreseeable future, regrettably.
I guess my only real regret is not exploring out of the country, moving to a new place and being on my own for a longer period of time. Since being attached since college, there hasn’t been any me time so that is something I can work on. But you’ll never know, maybe I’ll take a job overseas sometime. Maybe I can find myself and my identity – this has been on my mind actually but it’s really complex with the many roles I have to play during work, outside work, in the home, with friends etc. Even finding friends with similar experiences is getting more difficult and I guess that’s why people drift apart but this is another story.
For now, I’ll like to give thanks to what I have! Hopefully my scoresheet will be pretty awesome when I check back in ten years!
