Tell Me What You Want What You Really Really Want

I am at that age wherein most of my friends are either settling down or already trying to have a baby or at least in very serious relationships that COULD possibly turn into marriage. They think that they are ready to take that next step into being ADULTS.

As for me, I do not want that kind of responsibility in my life. I am not saying that my friends are heading the wrong direction because seriously, I would support them in all their decisions. I am simply saying that I want a different kind of life. It is not necessarily the better life, but it is the life I want. And I do not want to be judged with that.

It’s more of a question of what it is you really want in life.

When I met up with my friend Alf in Vegas last November 2009, we were talking about how different his life is with mine. There he was, in his 5 bedroom house living with his very beautiful wife Gail and his 3 lovely kids, shuttling himself from Vegas to LA and back to manage the company operations in both cities. While I… well, I can’t really say much about my life. hahaha

But seriously speaking, I have started making movies and been to a couple of international film festivals. I have seen Brad and George in person, have met directors like Pen-Ek Ratanaruang of Thailand, HOU Hsiao Hsien of Taiwan, Mohsen Makhmalbaf of Iran, have spoken to Darren Arronofsky (The Wrestler) and even Danny Boyle (The Beach, Slumdog Millionaire). More importantly, I have walked on a red carpet with lights flashing and people clapping!

 George Clooney and Brad Pitt

with Darren Arronofsky

with Dany Boyle

More importantly, I have been given the chance, the opportunity and the responsibility to be able to shoot films which hopefully could touch the hearts and minds of not just the Filipinos but other people from around the world. It is in having this privilege to tell stories that could hopefully influence, change, inspire others or simply make people laugh and cry, reminisce, find hope, share love, forgive and forget that I am most proud of.

This brings me back to my conversation with Alf. Back in 2002, he wanted to have a big family with Gail in the US while I wanted to go back to the Philippines to make movies. 8 years later, Alf and Gail now happily lives with their 3 kids – Avi and the twins, Amie and Aidan. While I am making movies, shooting in exotic locations, putting my life in danger, partying with friends, traveling and most importantly, meeting interesting people from all over the world.

That is the life he wanted. And that is the life he chose to live. And this is the life I wanted. So this is the life I’m living.

What about you? What is it that you really want in life?