Hello, my name is Robert, and you might be wondering what qualifies me to write about living a meaningful life. That is an important question and deserves a good answer, but rather than answer the question directly, let me tell you a story about how I got here.
As a child, I was diagnosed with a learning disability; at the time, this wasn’t a surprise to my parents or me as I couldn’t read or write no matter how much I practiced. This went on until I was in grade 7, at which point my parents found a school that specialized in teaching kids like me.
After going to that school, I was able to return to a regular high school. In high school, I was a hard-working student, and although I had my weaknesses, I was able to keep up. By the time high school was finished, I had excellent marks and was able to get into all the universities I applied to.
My first year at university went surprisingly well; however, I quickly learned two things about myself in my second year. The first was that I loved reading fiction; this was something new for me, as reading had always been challenging and something I had avoided.
The second thing I learnt was that I wasn’t interested in focused learning. I say this because I changed my major three times and almost did it a fourth time before deciding that I didn’t want to stay at school for another year. I ended up graduating with an honours bachelor’s degree in general science.
Unfortunately, my reading interest negatively affected my marks as I would spend countless nights reading books for fun rather than studying or doing my homework. My shifting interests also gave me a science degree, but it wasn’t specialized enough to get me a science job after graduation.
For about a year, I worked at a call center with a whole bunch of high school dropouts. My time there ended when I quit on Christmas eve and decided to take a job as an English teacher in South Korea.
I spent 13 months in Korea as an English teacher for elementary students. Although that year was one of the most interesting years of my life, I also realized that I wasn’t made for teaching kids. But I couldn’t leave that job without an excuse, so I applied to law school and a web development program at a college near my home town.
Luckily I didn’t get into law school, and before college started in the fall, I did decide to knock a country off my bucket list. That summer, I spent a month in India by myself, which was an eye-opening experience and something I will never forget.
Upon returning to Canada, I started college and did exceptionally well. It’s incredible how much of a difference having a plan and goal can make when it comes to school. After college, I got my first job at a startup, and I was so excited about the opportunity, but I quickly realized I wasn’t cut out for that environment and got laid off.
After that soul-crushing experience, I found another job and continued on with my life as a web developer. I have since had multiple jobs, gotten married and had a kid.
Over the years, I have kept up my reading habit and have read close to 200 books, an accomplishment for anyone, but especially impressive for someone who couldn’t read till they were 14. Over the years, I have had so many life experiences, that I should be twice my age.
My experiences and all that I have read inspired me to write a book about How to Live a Meaningful Life. I know it is an ambitious goal, but something I am certainly qualified to talk about given all my adventures and experiences.
If you are curious about my book, you can get a copy on Amazon
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Thanks for reading about all my ideas and I appreciate your support.