For Career Day last year, Sharkteeth went as a fashion designer. She only told me a day before the event that she needed a costume. I didn't even know that there's a career day; besides, elementary students thinking about careers is a bit preposterous for me. They should be thinking of games, toys, shows, One Direction (Harry is just so adorable, right? The hair?), heck, even Big Time Rush, not careers! They are kids, for heaven's sakes. Anyway, since last minute na, improvisation galore na naman ako. I just dressed her fashionista like, with her blue silk scarf and blue tights under her white dress with tulle hem -- yes, that's fashionista in my book, walang kokontra! Then I made her bring a drawing book with a measurement form (something like this) para naman may konting clue kung anong career yun. Still, nobody could figure out what career she was portraying!
So, what do you think? Does the getup say "fashion designer"? Oui? Non?
Come 2013 Career Day, S told me early enough. Still, I was in a conundrum. On the one hand, the costumes I have at home are for a fairy princess and a silk Japanese kimono I picked up from an ukay. On the other hand, being a fairy princess is obviously not a career and what parent would dress up her daughter as a geisha? Anyhoooo, I suggested to S, given that she's studying in a nun-run school, that she dress up as a nun. She was aghast, to say the least: "Noooooooo! And besides, that's not a career!" Point taken. She suggested going as a copy editor. Awwww...kilig naman ako. Pero no dice. I mean, how do you dress up like an editor, when there are times that I work wearing pantulog? Eventually, we settled on a doctor costume.
Remembering that I once saw a pack of doctor accessories for a fancy party or for a Halloween costume in the ukay where I got the kimono, I rushed there and got the pack. It contains a reflector thingie, a plastic stethoscope, a sleeve for an ID, a surgical mask, and a dozen or so eyeballs. Choosing between a blazer/gown and a pair of scrubs, I chose the latter because I (rightfully) assumed that every other kid will be dressed up as a doctor and most will just be wearing a blazer over their Sunday clothes. I bought some cheap cotton fabric and slaved away. And slave, I did. Ki-nareer ko talaga! S chose to use my real stethoscope. I told her to bring the eyeballs -- ayaw pumayag. "Too much, Mymy! Too much!"
My not-so-little doctor
Speaking of careers, TheHusband and I long resolved never to force S to take a course, or a career path, that she doesn't want. I wanted to take journalism or psychology. My mother would have none of that. She dreamt of having a doctor in the family, and my course, biology, would be a great preparation for that, she sang into my ears. I insisted that psychology can be a prep course for medicine as well. "And magiging doctor ka ng mga sira-ulo?" She rationalized that if I don't get to continue it to medicine, I can work in laboratories in the USA. I understand though why she was insistent. They didn't get to finish school. We were not rich. She wanted to ensure that I'd be able to lead a better and more secure life than they did. So I did. In retrospect, however, I realized that when I was studying biology, it was at its stagnant phase. I don't wanna date myself, but let's just say that the computers back then were still using WordStar. The exponential increase in computational power in the subsequent decades led to so many discoveries in the field. Anyway, back to my story. I didn't pursue medicine. I don't have the attention span to actually focus for so long on things that bore me. Saka I realized that I'm not patient enough sa mga patients. Hindi ako mananalo ng humanitarian award. After graduating, on a whim, I studied another course. Graduated and successfully got my license. I even worked for a year -- a year of terribly low salary. In fairness, ang payat ko nun. Hahahahaha! Then came the opportunity to work as a copy editor, with a great salary to boot. Well, my salary in my previous job was so low that even a small bump would have tantalized me. Copyediting is something that I enjoyed and still enjoying. Dead-end, career-wise, but it afforded me the luxury of staying at home. There are times when 24 hours is still not enough to finish my work and that I still feel that I don't have enough time to spend with TheHusband and Sharkteeth, but at least now, I get to watch school shows and other activities. Teka, I got lost na...What's my point now? Happiness is doing something you like, and being stuck in a career that you remotely like isn't going to help. Sabi nga ni Manong Confucius, "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." I just hope that when the day comes that S will choose her course, and career, she'll already be self-actualized and that she really knows what she wants. Hindi tulad ko, flitting from one course to another. (To be fair to myself, tinapos ko naman yung dalawang degrees ko. Consolation prize! LOL!) And I hope that we'll have the financial wherewithal to support her.
