Doing Things That Am Passionate About

Wow! Its almost a year since I posted anything on this blog.
I do not feel bad though, cause I would rather not post than post useless material that are not important in my life.
So what I have been up to since my last post?  Well, a whole lot and I will share those events as I post regularly.
I remember watching the last lecture by Randy Pausch...a former Carnegie Mellon professor.  The lecture was titled: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo. Professor Pausch was on the verge of saying goodbye to this world due to an illness.  In the lecture he shared the things he dreamt of doing/becoming when he grew up..and then he told the audience how he managed to achieve those dreams.
As I watched the lecture, it inspired me to look within: what were my childhood dreams?  Have I achieved any of them?
I sat down and wrote the few childhood dreams that I could remember and promised myself that I would work to achieve them.

The dreams were:
To be a soldier
To be a martial artist

Other ambitions that came along as I was growing up were:
To attain a high level education
To travel and see the world
To own my own business
To have the most fantastic wife/marriage ever.

I managed to achieve quite a few of these dreams in 2012.
I met a lovely lady whose charm, kindness, warmth, love and care won me over in a very short period.  I got engaged and married in the same year and its been the greatest decision and the best addition to my life.  I wake up everyday with a smile when I think of my wife.

I joined the US Army in May 2012....Its a great feeling to become something you have always fantasized about.  Being a soldier has exposed me a different lifestyle of following orders, following a strict schedule, being sent wherever and whenever deemed necessary.  Its an honor to be part of the the greatest military force in the world.

In Jan of this year I was asked to participate in Taekwando training by my unit. I was more than happy to participate in the training.  This was my opportunity to achieve another childhood dream.  In 40hrs of intense training, I became quite proficient in basic martial arts. I love the training so much that I have signed up for more classes.  I plan to use the training to become a self defense trainer to supplement my income once I am out of the Army.

I enrolled back to school; I am currently taking two refresher courses before starting my MBA in entrepreneurship.  This degree and the business plan that I will be working on while pursuing the degree will empower me to start my own business once I am done with the Army.

I have managed to travel to Rwanda, Uganda, Japan, S. Korea and I have entered UK and Netherlands so far. I plan to travel more when my schedule is not overly controlled.

2012 was a year of great achievements.
Getting married, joining the army, getting out of debt, getting closer to my family, overcoming some fears, getting in better shape and much much more.
I have great plans for 2013 and I hope to share my journey with you through this blog.

How was 2012 for you? Did you have any newsworthy events?

Of Marriage

I have a lengthy discussion with one of my friends concerning the type of woman to marry.
He was basically getting on my case due to the fact that I prefer to marry a Kikuyu lady.
Given that I have spent more than half of my life away from Kenya and away from Kikuyu people he didnt feel that I could justify my preference.
I have dated ladies from diverse cultures and actually have been more exposed to ladies of other cultures than I have been exposed to Kikuyu ladies., so I can defintely see why my friend doesnt seem to understand my preference.
At first I really did not understand why I prefer Kikuyu ladies.
I tried to reason that its the culture, the language, the communication etc; but all those reasons were done away with by my friend.
That got me really thinking; do I understand why I prefer what I prefer?
Then it hit me
I prefer to marry I Kikuyu lady because I would like to marry someone who is like my mother.
Let's face it, before your wife comes along, the only lady who knows you, nurtures you, loves you unconditionally is your mother.
So when you are looking for someone to settle down with, your mother's qualities seem to overshadow all others.
Its psychological; we make these choices without even realizing them.

Now dont get me wrong, you can find motherly qualities in ladies from other cultures, but given the choice of someone from your culture with the same qualities as another lady from another culture, you will most definitely choose the lady from your culture.
It is comforting to have someone who understands you fully---your culture, language, behaviour and most importantly has your best interest at heart just like your mother would.
So its not a racial thing at all; am just looking for someone to take Wairimu's place (that's my mother).
Now that doesnt mean that if someone from another culture came into my life and captured my heart I wouldnt take it to the next level.
Any thoughts?