Somebody once told me: YOU’LL NEVER GET RICH TEACHING. It didn’t make any sense to me at that time. The only thing that mattered was receiving a degree and eventually, earning my own keep.

Back in grade school, I marveled at playing teacher in front of my eager playmates, whose eyes were fixed on a tiny blackboard with alphabet and animal illustrations. While I, on the other hand, pointed a wooden stick to anyone who dared not listen to my pseudo-lecture. It never occurred to me that I’d be doing the exact scenario several years after. The only difference is, instead of shabby neighborhood kids as spectators, I had real school boys and girls in tow.

The temptation was too hard to resist since I grew up in a huge clan virtually infiltrated by stern and traditional schoolteachers. However, I consciously attempted to veer away from it all by feigning interest in other fields. I once visualized myself as a flight attendant, pulling a huge trolley on her way to the tube, dressed in a fancy suit with a 5-inch stiletto pumps. It spelled glamour to me. But when I discovered that planes do crash, I immediately abandoned the idea.

I also toyed with the idea of working in an advertising agency mainly because I thought that the job was all fun — coming up with witty storylines for products that may not even reach the market. I heard from a reliable source that ad agencies pay well. One thing that totally turned me off though was the truth that these agencies are inhabited by bitchy people who wouldn’t think twice making one’s life miserable. So again, I abandoned the idea.

I totally had no specific degree in mind when I walked out of high school. All I wanted was to make my folks proud by handing them an authentic diploma. So while I was trying to figure out what I’d do with my life, I opted to take Education on a whim. After one semester, I wanted to find a way out! I couldn’t for the life of me become a schoolteacher! It was entirely out of my character! I remembered the times when I’d make fun of my high school teachers for their outrageous sense of fashion or their uncanny peculiarities while inside the class. I wouldn’t ever subject myself to that kind of cruelty! But due to a twist of fate, I held on for another semester and before I knew it, four years had gone by.

In hindsight, the four years I endured taking a degree I initially brushed off turns out to be one of the best choices I’ve ever made in my young life. There are things that we consciously stay away from, not knowing that it is paving the way for greater things to come. I couldn’t be happier because I’m convinced that I made the right choice.

Three years ago, a dear friend of mine was bitten by the “dollar bug.’ Sure, it feels great to take on new challenges and eventually earn more than you have imagined but there are certain things in life that you hold dear and that you can’t have the heart letting go of. To me, it’s the fulfillment that I get from teaching.

I may not have the material comforts that my friends in corporate suits enjoy but I have far better experiences that could last me a lifetime.

My life is not what I envisioned it to be but deep in my heart I know that it is just as it should be.