Once-in-a-lifetime Pursuits

Over the years, I have imaged myself in certain scenarios that I think would bring me the most joy, fulfillment, and satisfaction. These are the items that I currently have on my Bucket List.

Traveling abroad

The places I most want to visit right now are Nepal, India, Bhutan, Tibet, Vietnam, Japan and Taiwan. I have been to Asia twice (a month and a half in Sichuan province, China and ten days in Chiang Mai, Thailand) and both times I have really cherished my time there.

Publishing my writing

I have always had a knack for writing and envisioned myself traveling the world and writing about my experiences. In the past several years I have also started to want to write a book about my life. Maybe it won’t be a memoir, maybe it will be more focused on travel and philosophy and personal development. I don’t know, it’s still in the works.

I have a habit of journaling often, and generally just wanting to write things down when they happen. Lately I have been using this blog as my platform, and it has been a lot of fun.

Enrolling in a graduate degree program to study (Buddhist) Philosophy

I loved my time as a philosophy major. I’m planning on writing a post soon about my life as a Philosophy major after graduation, because my Alma Mater (UMass Boston) invited me to campus this coming Fall to talk about that very subject with undergraduate students. I want to prepare what I’m going to say.

Unfortunately, I didn’t enroll in grad school right after graduation because my grades were not good enough. I was also not in the right headspace at the time – I was very caught up in personal pursuits and experiencing more of what life had to offer. Yet, eight years later I am still finding lots of enjoyment from school, studying, researching and writing. I know that academia is more than that, and there is lots of competition involved, but I can’t shake the excitement that comes from the thought of professionally studying a subject I love.

One thing about Buddhist philosophy is that learning isn’t confined to a classroom, or to a textbook. This is what I want to tell the students at UMass Boston. Since my interest in Buddhism has developed, I have learned more about the nature of reality from my own practice and experience than I was able to in school, or from reading Buddhist literature. Thankfully, there are countless retreat centers and monasteries around the world that offer more opportunities for me to learn, and I would derive great satisfaction from taking advantage of those kinds of opportunities.

Working with children (again)

When I traveled to China, my partner and I thought that we would be volunteering on a farm (because we signed up to stay with a host from WWOOF). When we got there, we found out that the help our host really needed was with the students at his English school. My partner and I quickly transitioned to being volunteer English teachers and thoroughly enjoyed it.

When I returned from China, I wanted to continue working with children (especially because some of the classrooms I had taught in abroad really rubbed me the wrong way). I worked temporarily as a substitute teacher at a Montessori school and an assistant teacher at a Montessori school. I have fond memories of working with children and would love to continue that type of work, though it would have to be as a volunteer or assistant teacher because I do not have the proper credentials to do anything more, and frankly don’t desire to have that type of career. I love being around children, and I want to be a strong role model for them.

I was thinking of combining all of these interests by traveling to Asia, volunteering as an English teacher at a preschool there, writing about my experiences, while simultaneously attending classes at a Buddhist university. Do you think I could do it?