What do you want to be in the future?

I know. In the face of the coming national exams that seems to more or less decide how the rest of our lives would be, I have been asked that over and over again.

I haven't been able to answer that question for a while.

Remember the scholarship fair last year? I went around there and took a look, the personnel at each booth asked me the same question. Initially I tried to be honest.

"I want to become a farmer."

A farmer?! They echoed in utmost surprise. Where can you go to become a...farmer?

Some lost interest after that, others told me that it was an unusual dream, a rare one. Certainly it was.

But the more I think about the rustic landscape, the openness of the pastures and the appeal of the nature, a simple cottage with all my own farm animals surrounding it, the more the idea appealed to me.

I searched around for images of farmhouses, and I am surprised to see them so grand. I am thinking more of a simple, small cottage, like the tiny tool shed in the left of the picture, but also situated within the green lands like this one.

Looking at it makes me feel so much happier.

I don't enjoy the rat race of city life, or the noise, much less the pollution. I am also not much of a social butterfly, preferring to be left alone to my own devices with less human interaction. I love animals however, and I keep thinking about how heavenly it would be to rear my own free range chickens, and to eat my eggs without having to worry about all the artificial hormones and antibiotics and whatnot.

Perhaps then I would turn vegetarian because I live with the animals that I am supposed to eat, and when we treat each other like family, like mutuals and connect more emotionally, it would be so much harder to think of them as a mere food product. Perhaps then I would learn to see chickens with their own personality, give them names like Sally, Jim and Pepper and not just see them as "chicken wings" and "yum! chicken breasts!".

Aren't these little fluffs adorable?
Maybe when we witness the growing up process, and experience how it is like to nurture a chicken in a humane way, we would be less tempted to eat it as compared to when we see them as mere food products.

"Hey, cuddle! Someone's taking our photo."

Although, I do admit that I am an absolute meat lover, and I believe that it would take me quite a lot of effort to change this habit. Maybe I won't be able to change it. Maybe I would be able to compromise with myself - I only eat those chickens who are already dead from AGE (not illness!)

Sustenance farming shouldn't be as stressful as commercial farming right?

Ooh, and I like cows! They are such relaxed creatures. Free range cows are probably happy creatures. Me thinks that I will only keep three. Any more than that I won't be able to have the time to pay attention to all of them.

The cows here look so stoned haha

I think it would be nice to try organic farming and all things organic and free range.

My mom and I keep discussing this over and over, like what animals to keep. So far we like:

1. 3 cows
2. 5-6 chickens
3. 2 dogs
4. 2 cats
5. 4-5 sheep/lamb
6. 2 goats
7. 1 horse and 1 pony
8. 5 ducks
9. 6 pigs and piglets
10. terrapins, fishes, koi, anything that live in a pond.
11. Maybe a tortoise. I like chillax things.

Aren't foster parents and foster children so adorable and sweet?

I think I would love to adopt any other animals that come to my farm, and not turn them away. It is so idealistic that even to me it sounds like a whole bunch of phony idealism. I mean, do I have the capital to do this? Would my crops grow? What if my animals fall sick?

I am still thinking about whether I should have internet connection and phone...I like the idea of being a hermit, but then connection is rather important.

Maybe internet but no Facebook?

Haha.

Dreams, they are so beautiful.
They make reality all the more harsh.