Sunday, June 29, 2008

MOVING

It was in the year 1984 when we moved into a new four-bedroom house. This was a welcome change for eight-year-old me who spent the formative years in a cramped two-bedroom apartment. Finally, I had my own room complete with bed and dresser. This was the first step in having my own space and building a sense of independence. The move did wonders for my developing go. It was an event that somehow presaged my life's path-a path that has taken me to many different spaces and places around the world. Needless to say, that move to our first house made an indelible impression on me, affecting my pattern of decision and behavior.

Moving from place to place became a regular pattern in my life. I wanted to see more, to learn more and to do more. At fourteen, I was sent to a boarding school far away from my hometown. This in itself would have normally been a traumatic experience, being torn away from home and all,. This was not the case for me, however. I welcomed the change, saw it as a new adventure, was eager to meet new people, make new friends, experience new things, process everything and learn form it. I embraced the unknown future with a zest and zeal not customary for a girl my age. Maybe it's in my genes or call it what you will, but the sense of freedom and independence has always appealed to me. Routine, after a while, is suffocating.

When I began college, I moved back in with my parents as my father was not in the best of health. Shortly after my college graduation, he passed away. I got my degree then I landed a job and rented an apartment near the media conglomerate where I worked. After a year, the routine started wearing me down. At 23, I moved in with my boyfriend and got another job, this time an exciting one. Through networking, I was able to work my way into a television production company where , in just a short time, I became a director for a weekly TV series. One thing thing led to another and soon, I had three concurrent weekly shows under my belt. This was a fruitful and dynamic time for me. "Lights, camera, action!" was a routine I welcomed since the scene was different from day to day. It was during this period that I began to travel with my boyfriend, an inveterate traveler himself, and experience the world firsthand. I saw places like Angkor Wat, Paris, Italy, among others. Places I only dreamed about when I was young. my boyfriend, a decent man with a penchant for wanderlust himself, became my husband> Last year, we migrated to another country.
I am no stranger to change. I welcome change... like a surge of adrenaline, it invigorates me. Change helps me evolve by allowing me to discover things about myself through external stimuli. I have become self-sufficient, see, experience, process, learn-has become my credo, my raison d'etre'. And through it all, I always recall the memory of that big, brand new house in 1984. Change promises something new to look forward to-new beginnings and new adventures.