Who did you want to be when you were younger,

one of the students asked me last week… This question came out unexpectedly. None ever asked me this question – I mean, of course, I received this question when I was a kid or a student, but not when I am halfway through my career.

I answered that I wanted to be a criminal lawyer, which was a dream of mine when I was reading a pile of thrillers, detectives, and spy crimes around 11 years old at night with the lamp under the blanket( instead of sleeping at  late nights).

I never became a criminal lawyer but the truth is I have never pursued it and I never had a clear plan to be a lawyer.

When I was thinking about the future, I was mainly dreaming about new places and traveling. I did not imagine what I would be doing, the word ” Future” for me was always that feeling deep down about me in new undiscovered lands full of different unknown people…

well, people change… – nowadays, planning is a framework I live by – yearly, quarterly, weekly, and daily planning.

Maybe it was good that I needed a clear plan when I was a kid. Because that door to see the world was open, and no plans were putting a big chain on it. I was free to explore and discover who I was and what I was passionate about.

Is it possible that not having a plan can be freeing?