The Third Door
Rebound
Song: Lenka - The Show
   After travelling around the world for a brief year, Iâve come back to Vancouver to finally confront what I should do going forward.
   Iâve decided to start from the ground up, meaning a new place to live, a new job, and another round of schooling to get into a career field that I wished for. During my travels, Iâve decided that computer science is what I enjoyed studying and building web related products at the startup was the most fun Iâve had while working, and that was what I wanted to pursue going forward.
   My second round of schooling was unexpectedly difficult. For one, Iâve noticed that my memory retention was not a good as the younger students, and materials being covered in computer science courses are vastly different compared to behaviour research. Things were looking grim with each semester coming and going.
    âGetting too old for this sh*tâ
   One summery day, in an âex Machinaâ moment, the fire alarm went off in the middle of lecture, and in the commotion, I met Aya for the first time. We had a lot in common and it wasnât long until we were a couple.
   The summerâs final exam came and went and Iâve received and email regarding my application for the computer science program. It had a devastating effect on me, and I started to break down during work and I walked out claiming sick. I clenched on to my phone, looking for some sort of reassurance, I decided to call Aya.
âHey babe, arenât you at work?â
âI was, but noâŠâ
âWhat happened? You donât sound ok.â
âI got an email from school.â
âOh, about that application? What did it say?â She asked politely, trying not to jump to conclusions.
âItâs over. Iâm done. I donât know what to do anymore.â
âIâm so-So-SO sorry about that babe, where are you right now? I need see you.â
âNo I donât think I can show you my face right now⊠You know the weird thing is, I donât really care about what happens at school anymore, Iâm more afraid that youâll leave me if I donât get in the programâŠâ
   There was a brief moment of silence before a âmegaphone-eskâ voice started to pound on my ear drums.
âSHUT UP! LISTEN TO ME VERY CAREFULLY. I love you very much, I donât care what you study or where you study. I am not and never will be disappointed in you for not being able to get into a stupid school program. This is more insulting to me, why would you think I would leave you for such stupid reasons?â
âItâs just that... I wanted this so much and I somehow thought that my success is intertwined with our relationship. Iâm sorry.â
âGood, my stupid baby <3. Donât confuse school with what you ultimately want in life. You got amazing programming skills, Iâve seen it, go work on it, youâll find a job. Now meet me in downtown, Iâm hungry.â
   Sometimes you need otherâs help to focus on what âlifeâ door youâre really trying to open. I am eternally grateful to Aya, and I will always love her.














