Movies and dreams

Shawshank Redemption was on TV the other day. Great movie. Here's a quote from the end of the movie.

Get busy living, or get busy dying ... I find I'm so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I imagine it's the excitement only a free man can feel. A free man at the start of a long journey, whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border... I hope to see my friend and shake his hand... I hope the Pacific is a blue as it has been in my dreams... I hope...

I always tear up at that part.
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Another good one's Gattaca, which I saw again recently because I "inherited" it from the person who left it behind in my apartment when they left. I like it because it's about a guy (played by Ethan Hawke) whose limitations are firmly fixed in others' minds, but he overcomes them all to achieve his goal of being an astronaut.

Both these movies encourage me in my dream to be a diplomat. After three failed attempts at the oral assessment, it's easy to be down on myself. Moreover, I know I've made some significant mistakes in my career ambitions that have caused me to not be where I wanted to be at 29 years old.

Of course, all these feelings will become obsolete if can do well enough on my fourth attempt in February. As a Management candidate, I've got a much lower threshold than other candidates in more competitive "career tracks," though I'm afraid the big hiring push of recent years is in its waning phase. Still, I'm sure it's a goal I can achieve ... eventually....