I am an advocate
of comfort that I chose to work wherever and whenever I want. But no matter how
I wish to encourage people to do the same for the same comfort that I am
experiencing, circumstances differ from person to person that I find it hard to
point out the reasons why you should try this job that I picked for myself. So
I thought I’ll just enumerate my very reasons for jumping into this so-called
peculiar career to give you some ideas. Who knows? We might be sailing the same
ship!
1. I AM A SINGLE MOTHER
I
don’t think that there is a mother who isn’t a paranoid one. Just the thought
of our kids going out of the house without our permission freaks us out,
doesn’t it? I am a mother of one little girl who isn’t even sneaky enough to
make me worry so much. But worrying seems like a given parenting factor and to
me, the worst thing is having to leave your baby’s side every day for work.
Also, being single means being able to earn and provide all by yourself while
dealing with your kids and all the house chores completely alone. Lucky me, I
get help from my parents, siblings, and other relatives from time to time. But
in a regular basis, I’m left with the reality that they also have their own
lives to deal with. Another thing is that having a little buddy attached to you
is equal to having an instant partner in crimes which you don’t want to leave
wherever and whenever you’re going somewhere fun. Me as a digital nomad only
spells convenience to my daughter and I.
2. PHYSICALLY, I AM A NOMAD
I
lived here and there. I was born in Valenzuela, had my student days in
Camarines Sur, went to four different schools and rented a place during
college, resided in three separate barangays in one municipality, lived in Commonwealth,
Quezon City, in Sta. Maria, Bulacan, in Camarin, Caloocan. You ever heard
another meaning of NPA as No Permanent Address? That’s where I truly belong.
Haha! I didn’t even have a constant vacation place that I used to spend the
summer and other holidays in different construction sites within Metro Manila
during my childhood, thanks to my Dad’s job. Now the setup is I am residing in
Bulacan since my daughter studies here but I need to attend to my Dad’s
business in Caloocan from time to time, the same way that I am needed in my
Mom’s businesses in Camarines Sur. Not that we’re rich or something but a
family of struggling members with simple responsibilities and goals. I’ve had
serious researches about teleportation but no luck. Haha! Well, is there any
better job that will fit my nomadic lifestyle than this freelance career?
3. MENTALLY, I AM A NOMAD
Gemini
is my zodiac sign but before I learned what it says about me, I was already
having troubles with my multiple interests and personalities. As much as I
don’t want to link it to such astrology, I have no other means of explaining it
logically. The thing is I tend to leave things undone because whatever I am
into in a moment, gets easily replaced with another interesting stuff or idea.
Thinking that it’ll fade as I grow up was nonsense. In fact, there were
dramatic shifts in my school days. I was an achiever and the pupil’s government
president in grade school; contests and extracurricular activities here and
there such as quiz bee, poster making, declamation, folk dance, marching band,
press conference, racket sports, etc. The exact opposite of what I’ve become in
high school, an ultimate late-comer clown who wrote and directed plays, played
drums in a boys-dominated rock band called No ID No Entry or NINE, kicked some
skateboard time, played point guard in year-level basketball games, and spent
more fun with different group of friends. In college, I joined a tai-chi
organization and left it for the basketball varsity, which I also left when
important practice days got caught with my band’s gig schedule.
I know that
being bad with commitments isn’t something to brag about but this is a
narration of my worst self in my worst dynamic times. I had serious troubles
during college when I learned that I can shift from one major to another. I
bounced from Digital Illustration and Animation to Business Management and
eventually rolled to Philosophy. The catch? I did not finish a thing. I always
knew that this can’t go on but I always find a way for it to fit in my daily
living. Good thing I found a career that suits my ever changing self, something
that won’t be negatively affected by my multiple interests but would use it to
advantage as part of my versatility, creativity, and resourcefulness.
4. I AM DONE WITH EMPLOYMENT AND
SELF-EMPLOYMENT
I
am a failed entrepreneur. I always say that to job interviews because it
describes me as a doer who always try, fail, learn, and try again. I’ve turned
a private family resort into a café where people can go on partying and swimming
at the same time, joined my friends in their digital printing business, opened
an establishment with the same nature as our family business, operated a
24-hour mini convenience store, joined an online pyramiding platform, created a
clothing label online selling clothes that I sew. It’s nice to say that I never
stopped but one can guess the worth of time, money, and effort that were all
wasted. I was terminated twice in two different BPO companies due to AOLs
though I must admit that I enjoyed the working environment and never had a
serious problem with them. In fact, I have a pending contract signing in
another BPO company right now.
I
remember my Dad saying that an employee worries about his job and his family
but an employer worries about his employees, clients, suppliers, institutions,
and everything that affects his business. That was one thing in my mind when I
decided to try employment. In the process, I was introduced to the traffic in
Manila, dangerous working hours, distances to travel eating excessive slice of
a day, schedules and time that I found to be out of my control, and the long
days of not being with my family especially my daughter. I salute all the
employees out there for surviving these conditions but as for me, I’m done with
it. If one day I have to go back to employment, I will…with my improved self,
ready to take on bigger challenges. For now, I’ll say hello to what is
comfortably here.
5. I LOVE TO WRITE
Writing
is the only thing that I’ve been consistently interested with and I always have
this fear of losing my writing skills if I won’t be able to write regularly.
When I say writing skills, it’s the typical English writing style proficiency
that I earned throughout my student days. Ordinarily, it’s one thing that most
people would see as a regular part of their school subject which they only have
to finish with a passing score. To me it
was always like every subject and everything I do were connected to it, like I
needed it, like it sustained me. I was always looking for a writing
opportunity, improvement exercises, seminars, groups, and researching about the
topics that I found lacking in lessons at school was an effortless practice. I
treat it as a part of my body that leaving it for good will never be an option.
I am just thankful right now that there is a way for me to write and earn at
the same time with all the benefits of convenience, fun, and my daughter’s
companion.
6. PEOPLE WHO MATTERS TO ME ARE
EVERYWHERE
As
a physical nomad, it’s easy to conclude that my family are everywhere and as
time flies, they get scattered even more. Being mentally a nomad is a different
thing but produces the same result. Because I involved myself with different
businesses, jobs, groups of people, and other affiliations, it gave me instant
association with new friends and acquaintances. Although I am not that type of
buddy who would get in touch a lot, I take friendship seriously regardless of
how long we’ve known each other. I always try to stretch my free time for
get-togethers and having friends everywhere isn’t easy. Not that I think
they’ll have less fun without me but the other way around, I hate missing
chances of having fun with them. Even if they’re already used to my nomadic
status and call me elusive, I always end up frustrated after ditching a certain
event with them.
Why
am I a digital nomad? I think it’s more accurate to ask why not? I in a war
against time and space is one entertaining thought but in reality, I cannot
beat them. And what do you do, again, with things you can’t beat? Join them,
right? So here I am, joining their motion and conquering miles, reinventing
their use, but this time, to my advantage.
No comments:
Post a Comment