Crazy Prolific Era
The other night, a chat with a friend reminded me of 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 — YEARS 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟒-𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔. Craziest, yes, but it was also the most prolific.
Within these 3 short years, I served as social media consultant to a number of companies at the same time. I returned to Globe and led its social team (with lots of other responsibilities on the side) and we werked really hard, with DOZENS of projects running all at once. Also within this time, I got to co-write 3 screenplays and won a travel writing contest which took me to Paris. I had several speaking engagements. And then, by the end of it, I decided to transform our blog into a small company. It was madness!
This was my KAYOD era. I barely slept. I would go to bed between 2 and 3am and get up at 6 almost every single day. Looking back, I just can’t imagine how I was able juggle it all. Gave up my weekends, holidays, and evenings to work. I barely saw my family in Batangas. Heck, I barely saw my housemates here in Manila. 🤣 Still blows my mind when I think about it.
But as crazy as it was, I NEVER hated it. I even miss it, to be perfectly honest. I always look back on those years — and all the brilliant souls I had the honor of working with — with inimitable fondness.
Although I sacrificed a lot of my time, I don’t think any of that was thrown away aimlessly. They were sowed. Much of the fruits I enjoy today have their roots that can be traced back to these years. This period gave me financial stability — an opportunity to gain a footing, a solid foundation, a safety net, and lots of courage to take risks and go even crazier in the future. This was my Red era, my Born This Way, my Sasha Fierce. Charaaay, may pa-diva reference.
But this era had to end and I had to move on. One time, I had this fortune cookie. I don’t remember how I got this cookie or why I had one (LOL). But it talked about following a river to find the sea. I don’t really believe in silly things like fate. But this damn cookie resonated with me because it came at a time when I was just about to give up a promising career for something that I loved a little bit more. I never planned on staying long but I never planned on loving my stay, either. But I did it. I gave it up. I have no regrets but sometimes I wonder what it’d be like had I stayed the course. Where would I be now? What would I be doing?
But at the time, I just saw myself standing at the end of that proverbial river, just dying to sail into new waters, without caring about whether it was a puddle or the Pacific.
I’m happy where it led me, so thank you, river. 😅 Yes, now I’m thanking imaginary inanimate objects.
That river was restless. Even turbulent. But it brought me here. And I quite enjoyed the ride.