“All I need now is to grow old.”
One student told me that he used to be very shy. That surprised me, because, since the day I met him, he has always been so vocal and expressive.
“One thing happened that changed my life.” He continued.
“I should have gotten my permanent residency much earlier, but I was so shy when I first arrived in Australia. I didn’t dare to ask why when I was told a no by my agent. All I said was ok.
From that day on, I made a change: I started to speak out loud. Then everything changed. I am a Higher Achiever student, and for my current job, I got paid over $30 per hour. Now all I need is to grow old. When I reach 25, I will be able to get the extra points to apply for my permanent resident visa.”
What a journey.
That reminded me of my life too. Currently, I work hard to pursue my dreams, and I don’t have a TV at home, which surprised many people. Only I knew why.
I used to be addicted to TV at school and uni. My parents so trusted on me that they didn’t know I secretly watched TV every night while they were out instead of doing my homework. Then I updated TV series to my classmates the next day, as they were not allowed to watch TV at home.
Because of that, I didn’t get to the uni and the city that I wanted to and was capable to. That was a very painful moment for me back then. I regretted it so much for years. Now thinking back, I felt silly. Instead of dwelling on it, what I needed to do is just to take actions and make a change. It’s never too late to change our destiny.
Luckily, I knew it now. Therefore, I didn’t want to touch TV anymore. Because I knew how it felt whenever I finished watching TV hours after hours: a sense of emptiness and guilt. I was wasting so much time in my life. Thinking that motivates me to work hard to discover my potential to see what I can do to serve this world, and to live an interesting and meaningful life. So, I am thankful for that time now.
As what Deepak Chopra says:
“All problems contain the seeds of opportunity. There is a hidden meaning behind all events, and this hidden meaning is serving your own evolution”.