The Pursuit of Happiness

There are some things that touch you more than other things, especially after experiencing an event that can be related to to that very thing that touches you in the core of your heart.

Three days ago, I was in high spirits. Life is flowing at a pace so harmonious that I swear everyday is like a dance. That frame in time, everything was perfect. I felt that my future is secure, the potential forward was endless when I received an email from my company about receiving their call soon to discuss graduate positions. Those words were magical music notes to my eyes and I believed that my first step into the next phase of life will now materialize in the form of an engineering consultant, something that I wholeheartedly believe will take me towards my dreams of being involved in great projects, meet great people, travel and broaden my horizons once again. It was a moment I had been waiting for this one year since receiving their news that my job commencement will be delayed to next year, and its never sweeter to receive an email like that, an affirmation, a celebration.

I woke up the next day, feeling bright and sunny. I looked back at all the things that I learned within this year and smiled, I knew I had came far. The swell of ecstasy and happiness visible as I kept clearing my throat, all prepared, coffee mug in hand, I awaited the phone call that will change my life, I will finally become a mechanical engineer!

In that moment of time, there are some powers at work that definitely exceed human expectations and our convictions. Somehow, there are somethings that are meant to happen, no matter how many good indicators we received before it. As my little morning unfolds, I got the phone call. I was informed that I had been made redundant. Apparently they reevaluated their need for mechanical engineers and the services of graduates are no longer required. After all that hype about telling us to hold on for a year, I am, to them just another name on the list, something that you can select and delete in Excel. I must confess that I did not feel much pain during that time, and it took another day before I realized how much had I planned next year based on the assumption that I have the job. Thats only when I felt disappointed at my own sense of security, and that I haven't been facing my world realistically at all, no matter how much I believed I did before all these.

Two days has passed since that morning I might not be so quick to forget. I just finished watching a show called "The Pursuit of Happiness", a film acted by Will Smith. Its a fantastic film about a single, jobless father taking care of his 5 year old son after he has lost it all in a failed business plan. The story depicts extraordinary hardship and an unfathomably tough journey unimaginable by me. While his story began without a car, without a house, with 21 dollars in his bank and with all the responsibilities a father has to a child, mine began with everything he did not have, more of anything he has, and less of everything he has to do. It takes contrast to send a clear message, and I am once again touched by the story of Chris Gardner, a true story of the twists in life...

I am writing this to remind myself that life is not an event to be totally planned for and that nothing is as bad as it seems. While I have a wide range of choices that seem to be a headache when it comes to selecting one, some people do not have any choices at all. While things will definitely stuff up at some point in life, there is also no point brooding for them. Life is a pursuit of happiness, and the important word is pursuit.

What that does not kill you makes you stronger. I am glad that I can now at least make peace with a chapter of my life. My pursuit goes on ahead. Theres no such thing as a lasting bad moment, I believe that there will be still a good journey ahead. Fight on! At least now I have another chance to reorganize next year's plans based on what I have learned this year.