I’m sitting on the train in Tokyo and the message to myself I’ve been trying to put into words finally hit me: “stay grounded”.

Traveling and meeting people from other countries always tends to inspire me to move somewhere and start a new life - however simple. Talking to my friends from China, Australia, Japan, and even New York these past two weeks have really piqued my travel bug. In the last few days alone, I’ve considered moving to Tokyo, New York, Sydney and Shanghai..

I’ve considered being an international student, a financial advisor, a tattoo artist, a journalist.

But at the same time, I was feeling lonely yesterday in a big city where everyone was going along with their jobs and their lives and I was just wandering through. It isn’t always a bad thing to be in a community or around people you knew growing up. It’s not bad to have some things be same old, same old sometimes. I daydream about places to live, but I need to remember that none of that means anything until I decide “what” it is I need to do with my life. What is the thing I can’t not do?

Stay grounded.

I need just that. I have to realize that all those things can come after I’ve finally established my career path and myself professionally. Instead of letting myself daydream and wander, I have to focus on my current goal at hand.

The LSAT. Law school. Working in Congress or a district attorney’s office. Fighting everyday for something I believe in, trying to change a flawed system of a country that I love.

I can’t let myself get distracted with where I will live for the rest of my life until I have figured out what I want to do in those places.

I was researching jobs that could transfer across international borders the other day and came up with this list:
1. English Teacher :)
2. Finance
3. Law (to an extent)

Remote jobs:
1. Writer
2. Photographer
3. Designer
4. Artist

Jobs that require travel:
1. Executive in multinational company

It seems that everything points to me going through law school and whatever my path takes me afterward. Even if I started in finance, went through an engineering phase, and am now in education, I still want to make a difference in politics and policy and for that, I need to go to law school. I want to go. There is no straightforward path for careers, and going through three different careers already in my short work history has taught me that.

The thing is, it’s totally okay. Even though I tell myself that often, I still have trouble believing it and finding the resolve to see it through.

I will take this test. Kill it.
I will find a job in the field I’m interested in. Kill it.
I will go to law school. Kill it.
International Politics and Policy. Kill it.

Then life will take me around all these wonderful places in the world.

As long as I stay focused.

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Notes to myself

* LSAT
* T SFSU 6-8pm
* T/W CorePower 830-930pm
* 3rd
* Job hunting