On Plans

I could vividly recall the time when I was around 5 years old when some unknown guests, who were smartly dressed, dropped by our house to give something that I still hadn’t known until they left.  And right after they left, we opened the box that these guests had just given.  Much to my excitement, I saw two sets of encyclopedia for kids!  One set was Sesame Street-themed and the other one was way too “serious.”  I think only a few kids could enjoy reading that “serious” set and I don’t know if I’d be proud to share that I was one of the few kids who truly enjoyed reading that “serious” set.  After all, I’m trying as much as I could NOT to share the deep origins of my dorky personality because as of now, I’m trying to be cool, if not cooler.  But please don’t get me wrong, this set could still be understood by a skilled 5 year-old kid (ehermm).  It’s definitely a way lighter version of Britannica yet I think this, still, could not be enjoyed especially if there’s another enticing set in which Big Bird from Sesame Street graces most of the covers and Oscar the Grouch graces a trash can.  But what weirdly fascinated me MOST came from a single page of that serious encyclopedia set in which there was a picture of a man working on top of a building that’s still under construction and the caption says beneath, “Civil Engineer.”  While looking at that picture, I envisioned myself being a Civil Engineer despite the fact that I had no idea that there was such a thing called Math to ultimately get that title.  I’d like to believe though that even at that very young age, I unknowingly learned the first step on how to PLAN.  Besides, it’s virtually impossible to plan without using first one’s imagination.  Simply put, vision first then plan.  Of course, as I continuously grow up (not literally, sad to say), so does knowledge.  As we grow up, things seemingly get more complicated.  We continuously learn new things, develop passion on some of them, and envision ourselves enjoying a fruitful career in what started out as a simple passion, more like of a fulfilling hobby if you want to know my modest opinion.  And since things are starting to get more complicated before our very eyes, we keep pace by planning more systematically.  BUT believe me when I say that planning, in its most strict sense, doesn’t always work the way we want it to.  The future, after all, is like a woman, almost unpredicatable.  No offense to all women out there, but I think I’ve just told a pill of truth that is hard to swallow haha.

I used to be fascinated with computers back when I was in 2nd year HS, particularly computer programming.  So fascinated that I wrote a computer program that basically tests the user of his/her fundamental Math skills in the same year when Y2K was laughably the scare of the era.  I also started to be damn fascinated with writing that I still continue until now.  When my father was preparing for his Bar Exams when I was in 3rd year HS, I became fascinated with Law that somehow sharpened my logical thinking and at the same time, my communication skills.  THESE all started out as simple passions and then very soon enough, I somehow planned systematically to make them as plausible long-term careers.  But look at me now, did I become a computer programmer?  Did I even become an editor-in-chief of our school paper?  The answer to both questions is I DID NOT.  And currently, I don’t have plans to take up Law!  As you’ve already known, I’m practicing a career which I didn’t even plan to take in the first place.  So what’s now my point aside from not thinking too much about the unknown future and fully living life in the present?

The popular boxer, Mike Tyson, has been credited for quoting this up in spite of his crazy tirade after dominating one fight that he wants to eat your children: Everybody’s got plans… until they get hit.  Finally, Iron Mike made sense on this one.  More recently, the devastating defeat of England’s Ricky Hatton to the feisty fists of our very own, Manny Pacquiao might put a period to the Hitman’s great career in boxing.  And don’t tell me that Hatton, before the fight, had no gameplan.  As you’ve already known, it only took one thunderous left cross to shock the boxing world.  It definitely came as a big surprise to those who witnessed it live.

This actually is one of the striking things I’ve learned from life that I just want to share: Don’t plan too much.  Just plan to be surprised.