It's never too late to dream
It's never too late to dream
When I was little, I always dreamed about becoming a famous painter. My parents used to tell me that I have the potential of becoming a good one but there’s no money in it. They were very supportive of all the four siblings however, they would always have a side comment that we needed to make a living out of it. If it wouldn’t work, then we have to stop and dream of something else.
My parents are very practical when it comes to choosing our dreams. I just kept on drawing and painting pictures I like using pencils, crayons, oil pastels (these were the cheaper media back then) and kept on collecting these photos until one day, I discovered music. It was in the summer when I had my vacation in my grandparents’ house. My cousins are all musicians and they love to share their talents all over the world. That time, I was curious and watched them doing their jam sessions and making the house more joyful with the piano keys, guitar strum and even the soothing sound of saxophone. I asked my father to buy me a guitar (he can also play) and he did. It was the cheap one that you would get from an instrument shop but for me it was really special. I practiced when I woke up in the morning, after school, before going to bed. It was really an outlet for me to be in a different world where I can just be myself, closing my eyes and imagining that I was doing a concert with millions of fans watching me do the thing that I loved doing.
After the blissful moments of my childhood where I could see rainbows and butterflies, along came the storm. My dad lost his job and at that time, he was sending us to a bit “expensive” school and we had some dues that we needed to pay. It was really a difficult time for us. My parents put up some small businesses like catering food for small companies, pop-up shops where you could buy groceries and school supplies. We’ve tried many means of making money but it wasn’t enough as all of us were still in school.
The reality hit me when it was time for me to choose a degree. I chose nursing for the reason that I wanted to go outside the country and help my family. I had to give up my dream of becoming a painter and a musician because my priority is to make them feel that we’re all in this together and I am ready to help. After graduating college, I pursued becoming a nurse. This profession didn’t last long because I received a call from my sister who happened to be working as a teacher in Shanghai. She offered me a job and I got hired after the interview. I taught English in Shanghai for a year from kindergarten till high school. I thought that teaching is just going to be a temporary stint but the moment I set foot in the classroom I fell in love with it. After that, I was able to teach in an international kindergarten. Here, I learned a lot about early childhood education that inspired me to do my professional teaching certificate. Shanghai would always have a special place my heart but my wife and I decided to change schools and country. I landed a job at Ohana and became one of the lead teachers in the youngest class.
I love being in this class because I felt that I can do the things I love with the children. I played music (write songs, teach our choir and even do a birthday party) and art. Art is our every day activity at Ohana and I never get tired of doing it with the little ones. I thought that my dreams are never fulfilled but looking where I am now and what I do with our children at Ohana. I feel like I am living the dream.
All I want to say is, sometimes we feel that our lives are never heading towards where we want it to be but actually, it’s the opposite. For some reason, the universe is leading to something more special and beautiful. It just really depends on how we see things and how they grow in us. Yes, fulfilling your dreams is not just about reaching your goal and making things happen. For me, it is also about how you want to get there. This may sound cliche, but life is too short. Why do we spend time worrying about what we haven’t done in our life rather than we could actually spend it to appreciate what we have around us. With this, I also want to teach our future generation that we cannot get what we want all the time. Sometimes, we need to make the best out of what we currently have in life.
Every morning, I always breathe the fresh air outside and thank the “universe” for another beautiful day.
