I had been a mommy’s boy, a teachers' pet all my school life until university. I studied Engineering and did not like it but I finished it anyway. After graduating, I did not work a typical tech job but instead volunteered and worked for charities and non-profit organisations for humanitarian and environmental causes. The jobs were somewhat meaningful, but they were not intellectually fulfilling to me. They were simple, and most of the time monotonous. Few years ago, I decided to try the corporate world. It was stressful, and not particularly intellectually stimulating. They just give me the sense of busy all the time. And it is meaningless, to me.
A few things about me at this point: male, in my 30s, single, from a developing country in Asia. It has took me a long time to learn and see the world and to build my own set of personal values. I care about the environment and I do not think the current design of the society is the best, where money rules the world and (many) people are cruel to their peers. I do not feel settled when I think about disadvantaged people. It is just wrong for people to pursue excessive wealth while there are so many other people living in extreme poverty. It is a dissonance for me to live in this state of the society.
Since I started this corporate job (in another country), I have saved a sum of money with the intention of going back home, buying a land, and growing my own food. At the moment, I do not have enough saving to not have to work anymore so it means I still have to find a job to earn some money for my living. I am thinking part time jobs in an organic grocery, a book shop, or an art shop. I do not know if I can actually live like that given my experience with simple, monotonous jobs. I do not have any experience with growing food, it would take a while and trials and errors until I can get there. The most difficult part is I will likely have to do this alone. I do not have a partner, and I do not think it is easy to find a guy to go with me on this journey. And I would expect to have at least some friends to join me but most of my friends will not follow this path.
I still want to achieve something in the 'normal sense' - this is the part where I still want to integrate in the society and do something for it, and the disadvantaged people, and get some sort of ‘recognition’. And I can't deny that I still want to have more money than just enough for my simple life in the garden, so I could travel once in awhile. I want to see different parts of the world.
I do have another plan. Because of my mental health issue (I think mostly arise from the frustration with this world and my personal problems), I have an interest in Psychology. Few months ago I have this idea of going back to school (in another country) and study Psychology, becoming a researcher. I can live and study for 3-4 years with my saving but it means if I do not like it in the end, or I could not find a ‘job’ that I like after the study, I am screwed. This plan could be my last attempt to find meaning in this society. I do know if I follow this path, I need to accept many things I do not like about this society, but I will try to survive it while keep my personal belief and values to a 'certain point'. And in the end, I still want to have my own garden where I grow my food.