12/14/2025
As we wrapped up our honeymoon in the Maldives, Iām still trying to process how I even pulled this trip off.
Maldives is exactly as advertisedāif not even better.
Truthfully, a younger version of me never had Maldives on my travel list. Something this luxurious and beautiful just felt completely out of reach. Hell, 20-year-old Joe thought Manitoba was already out of reach.
This entire honeymoon kept having me think back to my 20s and early 30sāthe years where surviving felt like the win, never mind thriving.
Only my closest friends who stuck with me really knew that I was once:
ā¢ Over $85k in debt coming out of UBC
ā¢ Hiding in my closet, tearing up, while my landlord knocked asking for rent which I didnāt have
ā¢ Carrying the guilt for not following the life plan my parents expected from me after post secondary school
ā¢ Working two jobs while trying to make it in real estate just to prove to everyone that I could not only survive but thrive in Vancouver. (Graveyard shift at Blenz + dishwashing at Boston Pizza)
ā¢ Being seen as ācheap,ā when in reality I was just too insecure to say, āI really canāt afford itā
ā¢ Repeatedly disrespected because I didnāt come from the ātypicalā Asian family background in Vancouver
But if I could time travel back to my 20s, Iād probably still choose the same path.
Like Jensen Huang said:
āYou have to suffer, struggle, and endeavor. You must do those hard things and work through them to appreciate what you accomplish.ā
Maybe it was always having my back against the wall or all the self talk while pacing back and forth murmuring āI can do this. I can do this. I can do thisā that got me here!
Iām not saying this version of me is perfectāI still have so much to work on as a person and as a Realtor.
This Maldives trip simply gave me the space to look inward after all these years and truly appreciate everythingāand everyoneāaround me. Especially my wife who is now my support system, and my forever travel partner.
I guess what I really just wanted to say is that I came a long way to end up at Maldives.
Thanks for reading all the way to the end. š„š„
PS. Hellās itch is an absolute POS. Almost ruined my honeymoon. š”
