"Life does not have to perfect to be wonderful."

"Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful." The imperfection of life is what makes it colorful and amazing. We will never be able to appreciate the highs of life if we have never experienced the lows.

A very concrete example of this is our experience during this current pandemic. Before Covid19 hit, most of us were all busy with our lives - work, family, friends, and everything in between. These have either been halted or slowed down because we need to avoid contracting the virus. Most of us have experienced being locked down and separated from the people and everything else that we usually have in our busy lives, and that sucks! But this has reconnected us with the most important people in our lives: our families. In some of has though, this has made us realize that we need to reconnect with them again. We have been so busy with our lives before that we used to take our families for granted. At least that was what happened to me.

During this pandemic, I realized how much of my kids growing up I missed. I used to work long hours trying to prove to people that I can be successful as an architect in the Philippines. It took a toll on me physically and emotionally that I wasn't effective anymore. Things turned south that I had to slow down. My wife had to work abroad to support the family. After that, I was so focused on reinventing myself that I was engrossed in trying to find a niche for myself. I needed to work to be sane. I found my niche teaching in university while doing consulting work for environmental services. These again took my time, so I left our kids with my parents, who lived four hours away from me. I was supposed to spend time with my kids on weekends and holidays, but I enjoyed work so much that I tend to work even on weekends and holidays. It continued for years. I found myself again, and I felt that I had a more positive influence on others than before. I had the respect of my students, clients, and colleagues, but at the expense of missing a lot of milestones while my kids were growing up. I wished I was there when they were talking about how good their day was at school. I wished I was there when they needed help with their homework. I wished I had spent more time going with them swimming in the sea which was just across the street from my parents' house. I cannot take those moments back, but I believe I still have time to make up for it.

Yes, the pandemic has been a very negative experience. But life does not have to be perfect to be amazing. We only need to have the right perspective to be able to make the most out of it. Yes, there is always a threat to contract the virus. But we can do many things to be able to avoid it, like wearing the proper protective gear, social distancing, or staying at home, and spending quality time with our families instead of going out unnecessarily. My family is now together under one roof, in a different country. New place, new life, new experiences, and I am making the most out of it, choosing to stay at home and spend more time with my kids. I believe I do not need to prove myself to anyone anymore. I do not care about what other people think. What I care about is what my kids will think. Together with my wife, they are the most important people in my life, and I am taking this pandemic as an opportunity to make it up to them. Yes, it is not a perfect life, but I will strive to make it amazing for my family. It does not need to be perfect to be wonderful.