One
of the embarrassing things about having a blog is that, once in a while - no
matter how much you attempt to leave it behind, you find these spectres of the
past, floating about on the Internet. They come back to haunt you, little
snippets from your former self - like ghostly shells left behind, after
molting. However, the good thing is that you have this
sort of time capsule, in the form of electronically-stored thoughts, dreams,
wishes. You can look back wistfully - or gain increased motivation, to finally
do whatever it is you were young and foolish enough to think you could do, back
then.
• • •
I
was looking at completely closing down my former GOOD DAY, TAIPEI wordpress
blog - when I discovered that I hadn't cleaned my post queue as thoroughly as I
had imagined. A post: WHAT'S YOUR 5- YEAR PLAN? Written over a
year ago, when I had just turned 22. Not that long ago - I'm only 23, and I
won't turn 24 until next year. But I thought I'd be spending my birthday in
France - not in Hong Kong, and I thought that I'd head to grad school in the
States, next. That is certainly no longer in the works. At the
speed things go around here, it's ages. I thought it'd be fun
to compare what I wrote then, to how things stand now. A sort of vision
statement, for every year.
• • •
(One)
2013-2014: This will be my final
year at National Taiwan University, and also my final year of
living in Taiwan. (During winter break, I plan to make the Southeast
Asia backpacking circuit; I wouldn’t say I’m particularly raging to
go, but it’s just something you have to do if you’re in Asia). I hope
that by then, I’ll be satisfied with my experience of living in this charming
little country, and ready to move onto other things.
I ended up
going on two trips during winter break - one was indeed in Southeast Asia: a
two-week backpacking adventure through Vietnam, and a beach vacation in
Boracay. My premonitions about Southeast Asia turned out to be fairly untrue –
I didn’t meet the kind of wild, no limits backpacker partying that I expected; Vietnam
isn’t really the place for that. The food was divine. However, I didn’t
like the feel of Ho Chi Minh (which is, I presume, quite similar to other
Southeast Asian cities, bar Singapore) – and looking back, I remember being
pretty damn glad to get out of Vietnam. Taiwan, I loved as much as I always
have – but I did indeed find myself ready to move on.
• • •
(Two) 2014-2015: My
study abroad year in Europe. (In the summer, I hope to go to French
language school! Or a design program for the summer.) Many of my friends rolled
their eyes when I announced that I was studying abroad, but thankfully, it’s
actually a program requirement for graduation. However, I
don’t expect my time abroad to be all fun & games: since I won’t have many
credits left at that time due to the insane courseload I’m shouldering now
(I’ll have….15 credits for the whole year, maybe?)–I actually plan on doing a
serious internship (in what? Oh,
that’s definitely another post). Of course, this will
mean that I can’t have the wild study-abroad experience everyone dreams of, but
that was never really in my dreams anyhow.
French
language school? Design program? Girl. Looking at this now, I have no
idea where these thoughts came from. I am not remotely interested in French
culture, nor am I looking to pursue a career in design. Was it something I
had been eating…? I did learn Photoshop though – vaguely. Well, I’m
currently in Sweden, which is in Europe – but as for that European
internship? No internships to be found in small-town Uppsala. I am, however,
working as a remote contractor for a wonderful little travel-app startup in
Hong Kong. And that leads me to my next development –
• • •
(Three) 2015-2016: This
is where it gets dicey. Hopefully by now I’ve gotten by degree from National
Taiwan University & ready to move on to higher education. I would love to
apply for a Fulbright, but only if there’s some kind of topic that I’m
fascinated with; and can present a serious research proposal for. And if not? I’ve
always intended to get my Master’s, and I’m eyeing a one-year program
in East Asian Studies at Yale University. I know that it’s a
high goal, but I’m deeply interested in contemporary Taiwanese fiction &
since I have to get a Master’s in something (no MBAs for me!), why
not at an Ivy?
I am still just so dumbfounded, reading this. These plans seem like they were
written by a different person. I think I was in my serious student,
academia – phase, which I suppose suffused me with a serious sense of
self-importance. Yale? I don’t even plan to pursue higher
education, and a college degree will certainly not help with
my career plans at the moment – in fact, I don’t know if I’ll be graduating as
quickly as I anticipated. I’ve swapped contemporary Taiwanese fiction (ha!) for
lifestyle-reporting, wanderlust-planning, and a “deep interest” in the
interesting lives of urbane, cosmopolitan entrepreneurs, creatives, and general
hustlers in cities all over the world.
• • •
Four,
Five) 2016-2017: My best friend and I
have long been discussing which cities we’d like to live & work in
when we’re young. I’ve personally narrowed down the choices to Shanghai,
Melbourne, London. Armed with a master’s degree, I’m really hoping
that we can both find jobs there.
Ah – how
quickly our lives and loves changes, when we’re young. Suffice to say, this
“best friend” and I are no longer even on speaking terms. I doubt that I will
be moving to Shanghai – I visited Beijing decided once and for all that I will not
be making the move to China, as much as I love East Asia. I did have a
little flirtation with doing my second exchange semester in Melbourne, but the
cost was prohibitive – am not flirting with the idea of going there on one of
those working holidays. London? Visited during the summer – simply did not
like. Could not see myself living there. Instead, where am I heading, as a
drop-off point (as in, I’m walking there, as to the end of a diving board, and
from there I’ll drop off to who knows where?)
Hong Kong.
• • •
Who would
have thought? As I detailed before, I’ve always hated Hong Kong – the city’s
hedonistic history & present has become a drug; something I crave. Combined
with a fringe health food / beach-bum / sustainable lifestyle culture, I was
sold. And only an hour’s flight away from my beloved Taipei, which draws me
back like a magnet; like the pull of the moon. Going to try the Hong Kong
hustle for at least half a year as I complete the final exchange semester
requirement for my degree – and then the drop off.
I’m done
making plans - they only make me laugh.
• • •
Meanwhile, I’ll continue to spend my (rather free)
European exchange semester, which runs until Christmas of this year, as a sort
of “audition” for future cities. As an avid blog-reader / day-dreamer / wishful
thinker, I’ve always had a list of cities that I hope to live in someday. These
few months will be slowly crossing them off the list / “dating” them, I suppose
you could say – for a few days, weeks – and seeing if anything falls into
place. Here are the ones I crossed off last summer – London / Paris / Rome /
Reykjavik. On this trip, I’ve already crossed off Stockholm / Berlin (although
I’m due to give the city a second chance, soon). Current shortlist: Copenhagen / Prague / Edinburgh /
Lisbon / Marrakech
• • •
