HIT THAT GOAL!

       One dreamy night last July, I and a close friend of mine were texting and talking about our dreams, simple and great, as well as about the things that we want to do and accomplish in the future. Consequently, so many things came flashing into our minds. And then, she gave me a list of goals, sort of to-do lists, and challenged me to fulfill those. She categorized it into short-term and long-term goals. So let me share some of those.

Short-term goals: These are the simple and funny things but are also important. 

·         JULY: Earn money!

       For the past few months, she has been constantly asking me to go to Baguio but I’ve been repeatedly telling her that I don’t have money. Well, to tell you honestly, I really want to go there but I’m still prioritizing my earnings for some important matters. Instead of going there and spend money, I would rather save it for other important needs. So the deal was, I should save a part of my salary on this month and use it when I visit Baguio.

·         AUGUST: Go to Baguio!

       So the final plan that has been set is that I and some of my friends working in other provinces will be going up to Baguio on the last week of the month. I am really thrilled with the thought of meeting up with my friends whom I haven’t seen for a long time now. Oh! How I’ve missed them! I really miss their company and I am so excited to share my stories to them as well as to listen with theirs!

·         SEPTEMBER: Celebrate my birthday!

      Well, this is my month! So basically, I just have to enjoy and seize the moment as I turn a year older. 

·         OCTOBER: Read academic books!

       I haven’t read my books for ages! Literally! The last time I opened those was way back when I took the board exam almost two years ago. With that great span of time, I have already forgotten so many theoretical things that we’ve learned when we were in college. Thanks to her, my bookworm friend! I can always rely on her whenever I have questions. She is like a living encyclopedia! 

·         NOVEMBER: Start earning money for Christmas!

       We are both sure that we will be spending much money as the joyful Christmas season arrives!

Long-term goals: These are the ones that are to be considered with utmost seriousness. I’ve been thinking really hard about what I really want in life, of what I want to become in the future.  Sometimes, I try to imagine myself a few or several years from now. Then a wave of mixed aspirations, frustrations, happiness, and loneliness comes splashing into my soul. So let me share three among the many great dreams that I have. It seems that my friend knows my heart's desires so well because these are ones she had included in her list.

·         Find another job and work in a tertiary hospital

       Being in the medical field, I think that the best experience in order to develop your professional skills is to work in a hospital. I’m not saying that to work in a private or free-standing institution  is no good at all but it is in the hospital where you can deal with greater challenges and in a positive way ,hone  your skills by being able to cope up with the greater adversity therein. In the hospital, you’ll be able to deal with a bigger group of people (other health personnel, patients and etc.), and that’s an advantage in such a way that you’ll be able to develop your communication skill as well as your attitude in dealing with people with different personalities. Likewise, a tertiary hospital is equipped with more advanced and complete facilities and equipment necessary for your continuing learning experience. 

·         Work abroad.

       If chances allow me to, I also want to work abroad. When I was still studying, I used to say that I will never work abroad. But when I experienced working, I had this unsatisfactory feeling with regards to the salary rate given to us. Many share the same sentiment. Many of my friends aspire to go abroad for greener pasture. You see, if you try to compare the salary rates here and abroad, they’ve got a big difference.  In a much shorter span of time, you’ll be able to earn more money abroad. But as the saying goes, if there’s no pain, there’s no gain. Surely, you will have a lot of sacrifices, not to mention how hard it is to work in a strange land with strange people and will be far from home and your loved ones. 

·         Study medicine.

       This is perhaps the greatest dream of my life. I want to become a doctor. Since I was little, I already imagined myself becoming one someday. But due to insufficient money, I can’t take up medicine just yet. That is the reason why I also want to earn more money so that someday I’ll be able to finance my own schooling. Honestly, there are times when my hopes get low to a point that I already want to give up on this dream but more frequently are the times when I suddenly have this surge of eagerness to study. I really hope and pray that this particular dream will come true soon, even not too soon.

       Dreams will always be there. After all, dreaming is the freest thing that we can always do. I think that these keep us going on with life. Dreams become our goals. Attaining our goals become our mission. And I believe that there is no dream/goal too small nor big for a person so fervently and courageously willing to pursue it. With enough passion and hard work, and most especially with great faith in God, I am sure that He will bless and guide us towards success and we can hit that goal!

"When a man feels throbbing within him the power to do what he undertakes as well as it can possibly be done, and all of his faculties say amen to what he is doing, and give their unqualified approval to his efforts, - this is happiness, this is success." --  Orison Swett Marden