As promised, here is Part 2 of the Life Lessons I Learned after College Graduation.
I don’t know what possessed me to write something about the lessons I’ve learned in my 31 years on the planet so far. But the thought that it’s been ten years since I graduated from College kinda hit me in the gut and set me to writing this, sort of, Desiderata, Mighty’s version.
Dreams sometimes need to be put on hold.
When you are young and idealistic, you’re just full of dreams—not just for yourself, but for your family and your society, too. There are times, though, that you’ll need to put your dreams on hold because of some circumstances you have to deal with. A friend of mine had to let go of her dreams just to help her siblings go through College. She even helped her elder sister finish law school! But, no matter what happens, you should always remember those dreams, otherwise, you might become an empty shell when you grow older.
If you believe in a dream strongly enough, it will hound and knock back at you.
It’s funny how sometimes, you thought you have buried a dream or a passion six feet below the ground. And yet, there comes a time that it haunts you and knocks at your heart again! It’s like an old friend coming back, a dog gone astray but coming home. Either way, your dream will come knocking back at you when you hold it in your heart.
To make a difference in the world, you need a jumping board.
When you’re young, inexperienced, and unwise in the ways of this world, you may not know what to do with your idealism and your dreams. But what I’ve learned is that if you want to make a difference, you need a platform from which to launch your idea or pursuit. What do I mean by a jumping board? It can be a set of friends (and financiers) who are willing to help you out, a safety net that would catch you should you fail and fall, and a system to help you accomplish what you set your mind, too. Through all of this, you need a source of finances to help you do it!
The world is a messed up place.
An evening of watching news, even just reading some blogs, would make you realize that the world is full of brokenness. People are also broken. Too often, though, we seek the wrong solutions because they are the easy and obvious ones. Because the world is messed up, it has become easy to assume the worst from people and from everyone else. Yet, realizing the world’s brokenness gives us several ideas on how we can serve and help change it for the better.
Time passes so swiftly.
When I was a child, I felt that time passed so slowly, and I wanted to speed it up so I could be older quickly. But now that I’m older, I want to turn the clock back so I would remain childlike and young! What is ten years? It just passes oh so swiftly!
It’s good to pursue your passion.
No matter how difficult it is, it is good to pursue your passion. You may need to make adjustments and sacrifices along the way, but when you are pursuing your passion, you feel invincible, and it’s as if, there are no obstacles difficult enough to surmount, no problems serious enough to cause you to stumble.
One of the most passionate bands to ever hit the Philippines was Eraserheads. Because they were so passionate about their music, they are still influencing the airwaves this time, and though they have already disbanded, their music still lingers and considered as perhaps the best in the Philippines’ music industry. That’s passion at work—it can change the world!
I have to eat and pay my bills, too!
All this talk of dreams and passions are great. Yet, there comes a time that you’ll need to set them aside just so you could eat and pay your bills. It’s not bad to set them aside for a time. Just don’t forget to pick them up again sometime when you are a bit more capable.
Start saving money early on.
I didn’t realize the value of this early on. Had I started saving and investing money early on, I could have been a millionaire by now! Thankfully, my wife and I have started saving aggressively this past year, so we have some amount we can use to fund our projects. But even if you’re single right now, you should start saving. Don’t forget that! It’s very important.
So many things to buy, so little money.
Thanks to TV commercials and advertisements all over, we feel that to become happy, we need an iPhone, an iPad, the latest gadgets, and the latest beauty products. Yes, there will always be products to be bought. But money is limited and you won’t be able to enjoy them all. Unless you are a rich kid who’s just waiting for money to be delivered. All I’m saying is that you need to budget your money and be aware of your priorities, otherwise, you will end up with a lot of debt!
Have time for romance.
When you are pursuing the good life, it’s easy to forego romance. In fact, one particular ministry encourages young people not to hurry in getting entangled with romance. They say “Wag Muna!” But when you’re working and too intent on career, you need to make time for romance. Not just when it’s convenient to you, but you should be willing to make sacrifices for your loved one. Thankfully, I met my then-girlfriend (now my wife) in a church youth gathering, we got acquainted, dated for a while, and then last year got married.