gibberish

"rodel, anong goal mo sa buhay?"

tinanong sa akin yan ng boss ko minsan while having a casual conversation. out of nowhere.

i was stumped. ang nasabi ko lang, "mina naman. ano ba ito, beauty pageant? matatalo ako nito e, binibigla mo ako, hindi ko napaghandaan yan."

and then a round of laughter. uumpisahan ko sana yung sagot ko ng, "i do not peel any fressure, right now." pero hindi, na-fressure ako e.

the other day, i just celebrated my birthday. my 25th.

ok fine, wag nang mag-react. it's my 10th year as a 25-year-old.

in hindsight now, that question really made me think. suddenly i was having my quarter-life crisis. only 10 years too late. ano ba talaga ang purpose ko sa buhay?

if i would assess how my life has been so far, i'm bent on thinking that all the years were just a compilation of random events. i just react to what is happening around me. sabi nga ni katy perry, like a plastic bag drifting through the wind.

the stubborn side of me says otherwise though. there may be random events happening, but a big chunk of what's happening could well be a product of the choices i make. i therefore conclude, hindi ako plastic bag. plastic siguro, pwede pa.

so, how then should i answer that question. sabi nga sa nescafe tv commercial, para saan ako bumabangon? sige, alang-alang sa birthday ko, pipilitin ko itong sagutin sa abot ng aking makakaya.

1. parents. the world is filled with billions of people, pero these pair, i really look up to with highest respect. you see, we were raised with limited means. i can't recall having a birthday party as a kid. i don't remember getting fancy clothes. but what is clear to me, we were raised with christian values and the warmest love. in a world where "'til death do us part's" were almost fiction, they have remained together for 42 years already. and counting. i want to give back to them, not because i need to, but because they deserve it.

2. dreams. when i grow up, i want to be a medicine. joke. ewan ko ba kung bakit karamihan ng bata, gustong maging doktor. standard ata yun. ngayong grown up na ako, at hindi man ako naging medicine(!), i make it a point that i always give my best shot with what i'm tasked to do. kahit anong career siguro ang i-pursue ko, i won't be happy if hindi ko binigay yung lahat ng effort na pwede kong ibigay.

3. compensation. to sum it all up, mukha akong pera. sabi ko kanina, plastic ako, pero sa part na ito, hindi ako magpapakaplastik. of course, if you're working your @ss out, you expect to get paid. after all, i need the salary to be able to fulfill my resolve to my parents and to motivate me further to work harder. o, ha. (i hope my boss gets to read this. hahaha.)

and last, but definitely not the least...

4. world peace. since this is a beauty pageant question, i just need to include this.

as of now, yan muna ang sagot ko. baka bukas, iba na.

i thank you.