Thirtyfor30: Dreams change and that's okay

The biggest turnaround in my life happened in my last semester in college. Life was fast and exciting and with only a few sleeps away from graduation day, the unexpected happened. I had what I call an early mid-life crisis. I know that's too early! But looking back, I'm blessed to have a meltdown at a young age. In those last weeks in college, I questioned "Are the things I'm doing now making me happy?" "Who am I doing these things for?" "What about the things I want?" I felt the constant need to always excel at school or anywhere else for that matter. We didn't have the money to send me to a private uni so it was all or nothing for me. I understood the pressure my mother put me through was necessary, but I just wished I figured out earlier that my life wasn't about all the achievements I acquired the moment I stepped into school. I was more than that.

Even before graduating from college, I had a long list of to-dos that I thought would make me the happiest person on Earth. My dreams were too specific such as "Work at Coca-cola's Marketing Department!" "Finish a Master's degree in Economics at UP Diliman after 5 years." But beneath these so-called dreams were the hidden happy pills awaiting to be discovered.

So I slowed down and surprisingly, took the road less traveled. I climbed the corporate ladder (but not at the expense of my sanity), traveled more than I dreamed of, and realized there's nothing wrong with taking a step back and savoring each day with intentionality. If you ask me what my goals are these days, you'd undoubtedly find happiness, contentment and peace.