Recently, a love letter written by Philippine actor Aga Mulach for previous love team Lea Salonga circulated like wildfire in social media. This love letter entitled, “To The One Who Got Away”, embodies love not reciprocated, love never known and love never declared. This is the kind of love one has regretted but really never existed.
I may have been talking about a person, but when it relates to me, I’m talking about passion. Each person has his own dream, but not everyone fulfills their dream. It can be marriage, financial success, or a love to last for a lifetime. Most of the time, deep in our hearts, we have a dream that people around us normally don’t believe we can do. That is my story and I’m sharing a dream I have that I consider as the One that Got Away.
Three years ago, I joined the product development team of our company. I was a newbie when I joined the department but I was determined to know everything. I helped my manager with our e-learning development project, and eventually, I was given the chance to handle it myself. Most of our products are e-learning materials so within that span of time, I got interested with e-learning development, project management and most especially, instructional design.
Ever since after graduation, it is my dream to take a Master’s degree abroad. But I don’t know what particular field I’ll study. I’m interested to pursue a graduate degree related to instructional design, elearning development and product development but none of these are available here in the Philippines back then.
So, I upgraded my dream. I applied for slots in US and UK universities offering graduate degrees in Instructional Design, Interactive Design, Interactive Media and User Experience Design. I was able to get into the universities, but without a scholarship, I won’t be able to fully support myself.
Hence, I consider this dream to study abroad as the One that Got Away. I have this dream but it seems it’s not meant for me, at least not yet. I still wanted to take a graduate degree so I think I’ll explore here first in PH. Maybe you also have your own version of the One who Got Away. If that’s the case, maybe you can also share your own version.
PS: You know what I did with this opportunity that never really existed? I accepted my fate. If we’re on the same page, here’s my suggestion:
Move on. Live life.
Learn. Inspire. Flourish. Explore.Learn from your mistakes.
Inspire other people with your stories.
Flourish where you are planted. Grow.
Explore the world around you. The world is a better place if we enjoy it.