Today is March 17, 2019. Or rather, March 18. As I’ve been struggling to find an app that will allow my students and I to create blog posts this semester, midnight has struck and a new day has begun.
Today I will challenge my writing classes to start an online journal in the form of a blog, and what better way to ensure this app works than by testing it myself, with the very question I will ask them tomorrow: “Where do you see yourself in five years?”
I think the best way to look ahead five years is to start by looking back. What was going on in my life on March 18, 2014?
While I don’t know exactly what was going on that day, I’ve got a few guesses as to what thoughts and questions were plaguing me. The recent deaths of my grandma and grandpa along with the final, impending deadline of my high school yearbook must have been at the forefront in my mind. Then, I was probably also worried about the upcoming AP tests. The uncertainty of college. Would I have an Audi for prom? How would the outdoor track season go? What would my second international trip be like?
These are probably just a few of the myriad of questions and stresses that kept me up at night. March 18, 2014 was a time of great transition. March 18, 2019 is a relative period of stability in a very shaky part of my life. And March 18, 2024?
On that date, I will be 28 years old. I will have reached an age that many choose to marry, but I will be happily single at that point. I will be too busy for a family because I will be working somewhere and doing something in the race against climate change. While I can’t be certain whether I’ll be roped in to a government job, have started my own business, or encountered a completely different opportunity, one thing is for certain: by 28 I will have found a way to leverage my talents to better the environment professionally.
By that time, I hope to have learned self-discipline. I hope that I have learned to have fun. I hope that I have learned to relax. To enjoy life, be present, and be grateful for the mere fact that my existence is a miracle to be celebrated. I hope that I have achieved greater balance in my life. I hope that I have my health. That I’ll still be running, reading, and a much better cook by then.
March 18, 2019. That’s 5 years, 60 months, or 1,825 days. Take your pick, but don’t take long, because we’re on the clock.
