Q3

There is an analogy that compares life to a football game with four quarters. 

It says our lives are made up of four quarters. The first quarter is when we are introduced to life and the second quarter is when we make life choices on our personal and professional lives. This is the time we grind and build. The third quarter is in between youth and old age, and it is a period of significant changes in relationships, jobs, health and appearance. Hello, wrinkles! It the time we review choices and make changes to make sure we are still headed in the right direction. The fourth quarter is when we retire and hopefully enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Years ago, we tried starting a magazine called it Q3. We wanted to target those in their 3rd quarter, or some would call midlife or middle age. We went through the process of doing a feasibility study, interviewing potential advertisers and discussing cover and stories for our first issue. However, things happened, and we had to park the idea first. That time, I was only in it for the potential of coming up with a life-changing product and the potential of making money. 

I turned 46 last year, 2020, and I realized I am already on my Q3, or at least I am close to it. 

Time really goes faster as we get older. During my 20s and 30s, the third quarter seemed to be off in the distant future. Now, I am already transitioning from youth to old age. I am no longer young. I'm definitely a tita (auntie) and on my way to becoming a lola (grandmother). 

My Q1 was typical. I started studying at age five, graduated college at age 20 and started a career in public relations and advertising immediately after. Then, started on my masters before I reached 25. 

Q2 was eventful. I had a career filled with wins and awards, I had my MBA and I moved out and became independent. I lost my father, started my own business and began mountain climbing and fell in love with the outdoors. I founded a group that help children in the mountains, fell in love, broke my heart and broke my leg after. I recovered and moved my family with me. 

And here I am now, transitioning right in the middle of a global pandemic. 

I guess the pandemic is giving everyone an opportunity to reassess our lives. Without downplaying the tragedy that the virus brought to the world, the suspension of everything is giving us time to evaluate whether we are living the best lives we could live. 

The truth is, I have been for quite some time now thinking about my life. There are dreams I have not yet accomplished. I’ve dreamt of living somewhere else and I have also wished I could work with a foundation or international organization whose advocacies are aligned with my own. If it will allow me to travel extensively, that would be a dream come true. Like also many others, I dream of getting married. 

There were also times I entertained the thought that probably the best years of my life have already passed me, and I was just supposed to just follow the flow for the rest of my life. I know that is not true, but I allowed that thought to creep in my mind and it saddened me a lot.

However, now I have been given the time to contemplate life and redirect how I want to spend the rest of it. 

Anyway, that is supposed to be the third quarter of our lives, and probably what is this crisis is meant to give all of us. We are given a break from our fast-paced lifestyle to challenge and change to reevaluate our life plans and hopefully transition to a better us.