book basket: One Day

Seems like I have a type of book/show since all the key takeways I'm getting right now are all about having a meaningful life. To be quite frank, this was a hard read. 

I relate a lot to One Day's Emma, especially being the same age as her when she was first introduced. And similarly to her, I'm scared to live a life where I don't feel fulfilled or feel like I'm not progressing/doing something extraordinary with my life. Especially now that I'm still unemployed after 4 months of job hunting, this fear is particularly potent. 

Everything feels meaningless; I lack direction in life. I'm pursuing my creative endeavours to keep me busy and motivated but I don't see the ROI. Just to want to preface that not everything has to be monetised or go viral, doing these creative things is already satisfying enough but can sometimes feel a bit of a shame when nothing has changed). 

This notion is challenged however by Dexter, who seems to have achieved everything in life; riches, fame, great experiences yet even at his 'peak' by society's standards, he's the unhappiest he'd ever been. Which brings us to: what even is fulfilling in our lives? will we ever find the one thing that makes us happy?

My answer to that is no. We will not find the one thing that makes us happy in our lives. 

The book highlights how life doesn't have 1 trajectory. Both main characters lived various plots within their one lifetime and what they learnt in previous plots informed their current and future plot. We cannot move forward and live a life of no regret without bringing and utilising the lessons of the past.

This lesson is also evident in their romance. Regardless of what's happening in each other's lives, there is always the invisible string that ties them to each other, that brings them to each other. As a reader it can be quite frustrating as they are never courageous or honest about their feelings for each other. They've always had feelings for each other from the very start, yet they are never honest about it to themselves and as a result, never have the courage to take it to the next step, to leave everything they knew behind for the unknown.

As someone who fears living a life of regret, this book really motivated me to be honest with myself. What is it that I want in life? If I get kids, what are the stories I want to share with them?

I'm not there yet, but here's to living a life of courage and honesty. Cheers