NOTE: You can also see a summary of my life’s timeline.
Society has long instilled in us the idea that there is a distinct natural order to things when it comes to life and career progression: you first have to study for years, and then you have to get a 9 to 5 job. If you happen to be indecisive about your career path, someone will decide your future for you.
And well, that’s exactly what happened to me back in 2007.
2007: I was 15*, and like most people my age, I didn’t know what I wanted to do — what I did know was that I enjoyed doing a LOT of things: journalism, music, computer, art, business, finance, science, etc. You could say that I was a ‘jill of all trades and a master of none‘ kind of gal. Nothing seemed to fit me and I wasn’t even brave enough yet to choose for myself.
This is why the inevitable happened: my mom made the choice for me (this is also what usually happens when you come from a traditional Asian family).
In no time, I was enrolled in a prestigious school in Manila, Philippines under a Bachelor’s Degree in Accountancy — a similar path that my older brother was put in. It was definitely a course that I had no interest in but I was all, “Meh, okay. I love numbers anyway, so it will be fine! And it’s a good school too. Yep, it’s gonna be fiiiineeeeee.”
NOTE: By the way, for those asking, it’s not common for Filipino students to start college at the age of 15. It’s commonly around 16-18; I was just a special case. And no, my family is not ‘filthy rich’ for having given me the chance to study at DLSU. There are middle or lower-class people like me who have managed to study there; and in my case, it’s all thanks to my mom’s hard work that she was able to pay for my university enrollment.
As I went through my freshman year, I came upon a sudden realization that I had an intense, blood-curdling hatred for anything related to numbers. I may have won math contests in the past but it was a different matter to study formulas to no end. I was also frustrated, thinking that I would do the same act of balancing sheets over and over again as a profession… So like a kick in the gut, I thought:
“No, I’m not gonna do this to myself.”
Thankfully, I was starting to gain more independence as well as awareness of the things that I wanted for myself. So after a lengthy discussion with my mom, she finally let me shift courses.
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