Seconds

For the past year, the impact of time on me has been a little more vivid than usual. Never have I ever seen myself as invested on so many things all at once for various reasons. There's just too much of a crossroad there was in 2018 yet so many scattered empty points as well. Thought I was caught in another wave of that famed & feared purpose dilemma otherwise known as quarter life crisis. Same old shits, brand new issues, and a good mix of both, for the second time around. Speaking of the second time, let me set the overrated firsts aside for this mean time to give way for these various seconds plots, life-wise. 

Second Chance. Eighteen months ago, I made a huge adjustment to keep up with the rising pressure courtesy of then forthcoming chem board exam – quitted my job, abstained from outdoors, focused on things I thought matter. Eventually, this move paid off. Long story short, I earned the card. But I found myself caught in the middle of nowhere thereafter. No plans and all, just a lot of time and reason to question everything. The immediate life after boards was one for the books now, but it sure hit me big time, leaving me jobless for a moment, broke af. What I needed right then aside from money was a chance to get things back on track but odds weren’t on my favor. I tried to pick things up where I left them. Offered my open arms for thesis, looked for another sustainable research stint, but to no avail. Then a lightning of self-realization crashed into me. Research life wasn’t for me to live anymore. What was once a beautiful thing to me was no longer beautiful. The comfort zone was suddenly a place I wanted to run from. The whole idea of doing something new and going somewhere else gave me cheap thrills. And it would be unwise not to acknowledge the truth that I haven't been doing other things because I don't like them but because I haven't been brave enough to try. Thus, the need to walk away. So I did run away, fulfilled the desires of a changed heart, and went with this premature decision fueled by a rather empty desire to chase another dream of mine. Long story short, I took that career change pill for a second chance, hoping to be at least half of that person I always hoped to be career-wise. 

Second Move. There are some flowers we only see when we take detours. Making a career in research is no less than a life-affirming experience. I love it, and no one can discount that. But all of it I traded for a childhood romance with petroleum industry which effortlessly grew and bloomed on me through the years. It has always been my dream, apparently. So when I chanced upon the possibility to make this dream into reality, I held a grip on it tight enough to make everything fall in their rightful places. But the road towards it was not easy. I have been put on a major cliffhanger waiting for a good three months making it the 2017 plot twist that never was. But this eventual second big move has been insofar the best thing that happened to me in 2018.  

Second Job. Here goes this thrilling side story about a certain work (online chemistry tutorials) I recently do on the sidelines. For all I know I may not be cut out for such kind of work since I don’t really consider myself a good teacher. But somehow I lucked a little out. While there are downsides that goes along with working for a company far from being perfect just like the rest, this has kept me afloat in this current dense economy in Ph, truly a good buffer to match the logarithmic inflation trend. But the bigger takeaway is that extra happiness I have been getting from it lately. I never thought that I would find such joy in doing this work. There was this certain pleasure in touching strangers’ lives in the simplest of terms as helping them out in their academic struggles. Truly, teachers are my most favorite people in the world. And it’s just so good to be one once in a while.

Second Time. Fortunately, 2018 was not an all-work-no-play year for me. Towards the tail-end of the year, I managed to insert quick getaways, particularly on two of my most loved destinations up north (Sagada & Pulag) for the second time. Not to discount this trip, the excitement level failed to match the intensity during the first time. But the beauty of this return trip is having that second look with renewed enthusiasm over missed opportunities during the first time. Leaving this here for now with a hopeful promise to tell more stories soon enough.

Second Place. Once in our lives we may find ourselves on a place we do not want to be stuck on forever: the second spot. Been in such place for a couple of times for the most inconvenient reasons. Those silver medals I earned and treasured in certain courses of my student-life are living proofs of being there (or rather, almost there). But a worse kind of second place is that space we usually end up in when we turn out to be not the better choice. Being a former firm believer of the right time at the right place for the right reason, I used to not really mind being in the second spot. But at some point, we would need to assert what we want. And that I think is the main point of living– to eventually take the top spot we all so deserve. Learning something out of failing and trying to never do the same mistakes again, in the process. 

Second Thoughts. Among these and lots of other more that are going on in my life, there are just as much going on in my head. Right then and there for me are anxiety attacks, fairly aware of it but will never be prepared for it, all the time. Anyways, what keeps me thinking most of the time is a question of "if I’m not at this point of the road where I currently chase a dream I once forego, then where would I be?" While I’m more than satisfied with my current choice of being in hiatus from being a student, I still have doubts if I actually picked the better option. Putting this in perspective, I’ve been in grad school for a good six years now with this mountain of a thing called thesis hindering my graduation. I may not have closed the doors yet but this irreconcilable difference between me and this thing grows even bigger each passing day. This 2019, I am still contemplating of going for the improbable and have that bittersweet taste of the best and worst on both my old and new worlds. Weighing in if it's really plausible to be a student-worker just like the old times, been there done that. But the catch of this scheme I’m plotting is actually being in two places 70 kilometres apart at the same time, this time. To do so, I will need to be that badass two-timer of a lover who will brave the odds to juggle work with acads. I knoe, easier said than done.

Second Choice. We could always be happy, but then we could be happier, not with the first – but with our second choice. Some forces work in mysterious ways and maybe, just maybe, we may not fully understand the logic behind such seemingly illogical turnout of things. But if we learn the art of trusting the process, pinning an eye on silver linings, and doing what’s right, with a proper stand and attitude towards making our seconds rise above our firsts, then we're surely bound for the better.