Just today while I was chewing Double Mint (I rarely chew
gum, but when I do, bizarre things happen), I realized that both 1995 and 2005
have played host to two of the most significant turning points in my life.
It’s as though every mid-decade is an appointment for me to
be at a certain crossroads where things are about to change — in a very major
way — and would dictate everything that happens thereafter. I debated against dwelling on
such a notion, thinking perhaps I was just “selectively” gathering evidence to make
a big deal out of it. But the facts are just simply undeniable.
Case in point:
1995 — I was in second grade, and one fateful day at school,
an unforgettable amount of pain engulfed my face, particularly the area
surrounding my eyes. I fell on the playground and my classmates freaked out.
Later that afternoon, I found myself in the hospital, being told by the doctor
that I would need to wear correctional eyeglasses, perhaps for the rest of my
life.
My mother didn’t want to risk an operation, and contact lenses for kids weren’t a thing yet, so I had to wear them specs (with a matching eyeglass chain) even if it made me look like a young North Korean tyrant. I probably had around 10 different pairs of eyeglasses during my entire grade school, because I kept breaking them — both unintentionally and otherwise. 20 years later, I’m still wearing a pair.
2005 — I finished high school in 2004 and took up
Accountancy, because a lot of my aunts and cousins are CPAs and it was a logical
choice back then. Plus, I’m a math enthusiast.
Boy, did that turn out to be one of the biggest mistakes I’ve
done, and that’s saying something, considering I’ve done a lot of shitty things.
Accountancy, it turns out, is not a course for math geeks.
There was absolutely no chance for me to display my math abilities, because it didn’t
require any. As long as you know how to add, subtract, multiply and divide, you
can ace that course. It wasn’t about math, it was about patience. All we did
was input A LOT of numbers on a big-ass spreadsheet (a real one, not on a
computer) and hit our calculators like maniacs. The thing is, my patience is as
long as a newborn baby’s dick.
Long before the end of the second semester, I already knew I
wasn’t gonna last long. I wasn’t failing; as a matter of fact, my grades were okay. I just
couldn’t take more of the spreadsheets and receipts and the suffocating manuals. Oh man, those manuals. I took my finals exam while under the worst
hangover I've ever had on record and that was the end of it.
So in 2005, I had to face my parents (still drunk) and I
told them I wanted to take up Psychology, like I’ve always wanted. Aside from
the awesome memories from those 4 years of studying human behavior, I like to believe
that I’ve also changed as a person, especially on how I deal with people. I’ve
become more accepting and open-minded, and it was all because of that particular
turning point in my [collegiate] life.
So there they are. Two major ones, both right smack in the middle of each decade. I'm actually quite pleased with myself for discovering this. Or maybe I've got too much time on my hands these past few days. Either way, it's cool.
Now it’s 2015. Shit.
I just hope my theory gets debunked after having no significant
life-changing event this year, but if my “mid-decade appointment” pushes through, then I’m ready. (I think.) Bring it on, universe.
