Do something new

Since I ventured into the professional world rather young, I've already worn a number of hats the past decade or so. Aside from the hats of Creative Director and Professor, I've also worn the hats of an event planner, cake designer, cook, baker, counselor, travel writer, travel planner, "surprised" host, personal shopper, bargain hunter, commercial talent, McDonald's crew, graphic designer - and the list goes on.

Numerous as it may seem, it barely scratches the surface of what I really want to do. As a kid, I wanted to be a lawyer (but was too lazy to fill up the LAE application, thus never reaching law school.) Another childhood dream was to become an archeologist (but it ain't as fun since I'm not living in Egypt.) Being a flight attendant was also a dream of mine (but to say that Dad wasn't too enthusiastic about it is an understatement.)

In one of our dinner conversations with D' Frendz, the topic turned to what we still want to experience or get out of life. My reply was simple: "I want to experience having a different job everyday for one year." The Philippines has a wide range of jobs that it would be easy to fill 365 days (366 in case of a leap year) with different jobs.

It can be an everyday job like a sales clerk at a store or a teller at a bank, a job that's very manual like a farmer or a farm hand in some mango plantation in Zambales. It can be an exciting one like a dive instructor (though I have no diving experience whatsoever - Lu-Ann, HELP!) or a boring one like a gift wrapper at a department store. (This I can do with ease.)

Of course, the first question my friends asked was: "Why?" My reply is that life is too short to be stuck in one place. Life is all about adventure and adventure is all about doing something new as often as possible. This sense of wonder, amazement and craving for new things is what makes life worth living and worthwhile.

Since the semester is about to wrap up, I find myself having to park my Professor hat on the rack for a few months. Actually, this is what inspired me to write this piece. Because as I finish the last sentence, I ask myself: "What can I do next?"

Let the hat hunting begin.