My friend, Mr. Nice is now a father. He emailed me last week regarding the arrival of his baby angel. Yay!
Actually it's really a coincidence for me to know him. We used to work as RA in a research institution in another country. But since we were from different departments so we hardly caught each other. I could still remember the day when I accidentally ran into him and he told me that he had quit his job and decided to go back to Grad. School. Good thing is since then, we became quite close and he's like an older brother giving advice and guidance to me. I remembered I paid him a visit 2 years ago and he told me about his struggle over this matter.
"Things got really awful between my superior and me. I was at the verge of being strongly doubtful about myself due to the constant remark from my boss regarding my incapability in this profession. I really wanted to find a chance to prove my ability. One evening, I was glazing out the scene from the window of my apartment. Would I be satisfied 10 years later with just this scene? Would I regret at the end of my day in this life that I didn't contribute enough or work towards my dream?"
"It's very tough to make such decision. My wife and I were having a secured job with stable income. We were even planning to further expand our nuclear family shortly after our 3rd wedding anniversary. And you know we are no longer young (My friend and his wife are 6-7 years older than me). But because of my little crisis, we had to put the plan on hold and had a tragic change in both of our lives."
No doubt the decision for my friend and his wife was really not an easy one. They had to sell off all their properties and gave up the good jobs and left their families to start a new life in a foreign country. It was extremely difficult for the couple initially when my friend had to go over there to settle down first. His wife only reunited with him a year later. They struggled quite a lot especially the entire family is now relying on his just enough student stipend. Though they're living simple, they are always happy.
Now my friend's doing really well in his research work. He's even the leading student in the lab and the supervisor's pet. Now the couple are even merrier with the arrival of their newborn.
Many of us fear changes so much, especially those changes that seem to happen in a negative aspect. And we refuse to face, accept and make the changes in our lives. My friend's story has indubitably set an excellent example in encouraging me to take the challenge of liking whatever changes in life.
Changes are necessary. They are due to positive causes in leading to a positive outcome. My friend and his wife could have chosen to live a comfortable life in their country. He could easily find himself another RA job. But they decided to pluck up the courage of facing the changes in life. They succeded so far. If things continue to go well, he'll be granting his degree next year and though I won't dare to say his future's guaranteed, at least he has proved to his former boss, his ex-workmates, his friends, his family and most importantly himself that he is capable of being a well-trained, talented and diligent scientist in his field. I dare say it would be impossible for him to transform his dream into reality if he chose to refuse for changes and continue his comfortable life.
Changes are not scary. They are meant for better purposes. My friend's story has surely demonstrated this. Are you ready for your next change? Ah, I am so excited about it. I really am and I'm working on it now.
♥ every page of my imagination
