My Aim in Life

Whenever anyone asked me what I wanted to become when I grow up, my answers varied from something as specific as Dzongkha teacher (my dad and uncle were Dzongkha teachers back then) to the most common ones like a doctor or an engineer. But these choices were because of the influence of the time, place and people around me. But I guess deep within, there was something else I wanted to be, something that didn't concern with what kind of job I would have.

I grew up watching a lot of movies, especially Bollywood movies, which explains a lot about who I am and what I want to do with my life. And by that I don’t mean what I wanted to do as an occupation. You know how the characters in a movie have that certain influence on the other characters, especially the lead characters. I wanted to become that person. I wanted to become someone who influenced other people, in a good way of course, someone people could rely on, someone people could look up to.

Initially, as I didn't eat enough Losars, my path to achieving this was a little off-track. I tried doing what the “heroes” of the movie did; dancing, entertaining, playing different games and sports, you know something like a jack of all trades. But now, having had about 22 Losars, I have come to realize that life is not a movie (finally!!!!). The heroes are just products of creative imagination. At one point of my life, I thought that I lost my own identity trying to become those people from the movies. I have realized that in order for me to become someone people look up to, I need to better myself in any one aspect of my life. Instead of being good in many things, I need to become the best at just one thing.

A part of me has always wanted to become a teacher, and it still does. Teaching is what I want to do irrespective of the job I end up doing. I am on the road to becoming a physiotherapist but that doesn't mean that I can’t teach. As I have already mentioned in one of my older posts, teachers are everywhere, in different forms, and doing different jobs. I have to teach people how to avoid injuries, how to perform different activities, how to handle injuries in the absence of professional hands. Just treating their conditions is not enough.

Not only that, but as a person with responsibilities towards my family, my friends, my community, and my country I want to be able to teach what I know, to teach what needs to be taught, and to teach to change lives.