So far so good

Around a year ago or so, I got a list of things one should have accomplished before they reach the age of 30 in one of my e-groups. I thought it was a good list and reasonable enough and so I decided to save a copy of it. Every now and then I check it to make sure that I somehow follow what the list suggests.

As I am turning 23 tomorrow, I would like to document how well I am doing based on the list. The list actually is very basic and should not be very difficult to comply with. I know 23 is pretty far from 30 but then I hope to be able to add to this list other things I should have accomplished in 7 years like owning a house and holding an elective office (now this one’s too far-off hehe). Here goes…

TRAVEL. I’ve gone to a few places in the globe before the age of 20. Now, with no debate tournament as excuse, the only place I frequent is the beach. There is truly a bigger world out there. Just strolling within the halls of Westminster Abbey, eating at Petronas or plainly trudging the snow-covered streets of Glasgow in -8 degrees and not necessarily shopping for anything gave me the experience of a lifetime. But the trip that made the greatest impact on my beliefs and priorities was my trip to the mountains of Nueva Vizcaya and agricultural communities in Isabela, where I think I spent the worst and best 5 weeks of my life living among the Ifugaos and farmers.

BUY LIFE INSURANCE. I recently started paying for my quarterly premium for quite an ambitious plan and it’s quite a pain in the a*s. I’m hoping to get used to it soon.

GET FIT. I am a big eater and I used to say that the doctor will tell you not to eat this and not to eat that by the time you’re 30 so you might as well enjoy eating everything now. Just last year I had two uncles who died abruptly and one of them is FPJ. Joke. Anyway, it’s quite scary to know that even Da king was not spared from such a sudden death and so I thought that this early, one should lead a healthy lifestyle in order to avoid these kinds of drama. I’m proud to say that I’ve minimized my alcohol and nicotine intake by as much as 90% in one year.

SAVE OR INVEST MONEY. Saving is not much of a problem to me. I have another account where I keep my savings, although I must say it’s not too much. Investing…I still have to learn.

LEARN ANOTHER LANGUAGE OR GET ANOTHER DEGREE. I am now learning Spanish from a very good teacher for free. The Foreign Service Institute of the Department of Foreign Affairs opened their language courses, which was exclusively for the foreign service officers, to other agencies and fortunately I passed the language aptitude exam and interview. The other degree? I’ll get it soon.

LIVE ON YOUR OWN. Although I still live with my family, I get to taste the life where you pay your own bills and worry about what home repairs need to get done because I and my sisters share the household expenses with my mom. I am not so keen on living by myself. It is not because I can not manage because I can cook and clean my own mess. What I don’t like about living alone is going home to an empty house. You see I live for dinner discussions with my family, coffee conversations with my mom and late night tribal councils with my sisters.

EXORCISE YOUR GHOST. Eversince, I know that whatever I am or will be is nobody’s fault but mine. I grew up not having a father and I couldn’t care less. Because really, I don’t think I’m less of a person without him around. I even believe that being raised by a single parent is one of the best things that happened to me because I was pushed to become self-reliant and goal-oriented. When you’re twenty-something and you still blame your parents who split up for your own shortcomings, I think you should have yourself checked.

So there..a little progress report of where I am now. I hope to be able to do this much more regularly with more goals to pursue next time.

Happy 23rd to me!