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Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?

The most annoying question.

By K.J.GeorgePublished 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago 5 min read
Top Story - October 2021
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Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

My answer… I have absolutely no clue. I also had no clue roughly 5 years ago either.

I think by the time we reach senior year of high school, every one of us were asked this question. That “it's time to plan for the future” question. A question that caused me anxiety then and now.

How am I supposed to know? What makes you think 22 year old me and 18 year old me are any different? Heck, even 10 year old me!

By Green Chameleon on Unsplash

There is this big misconception that young adults in their 20’s should be living it up right now. This should be the time of our lives. But what if we don’t know what TO DO with our lives. What if we are just simply trying to figure out what to do? What is fun? What exactly should I be doing now?

I mean some of us went to college straight out of high school, and probably graduated after a typical 4 year right? Meaning, on average, if you were about 17/18 when you entered college that means you'd typically graduate at 21/22. You probably would have your degree and try looking for jobs that are in your field. But, how easy is it to really get a decent job in your field? It's been known to be hard. All the requirements, networking, little experience (which I don't see how you can get any if you AREN'T HIRED), or even just a lack of jobs. That's just the reality of it.

So again, what exactly am I supposed to be doing right now? As time goes by and the older we get, we start to realize that we are doing the same thing most of our parents were doing most of our lives. Working to live. You get a job. You’d probably get your first car. Or even move out of your parents home. But then there’s also other things like, building your credit because HEY, ADULTING! Or for those who went to school and didn't have full ride scholarships and things of that nature, have to pay back debt. Because god forbid we live a happy, care free life with debt. That follows you everywhere. And so do those telemarketers. Que the eye roll. So now here we are paying bills. Everyone's favorite thing to do.

Now, don’t get me wrong these days, especially within my generation (GenZ) we're out here doing what we want no matter the consequences. For the most part. If we want to go on that trip, we are. If we want to spend our last dollars on food instead of gas to put in our tank, we will. Because who wants to be stressed out all the time? Who wants to spend their precious moments worrying about what we could've done, should've done, would've done with that last 10 dollars? To hell with adulting.

But sometimes you have to truly come back to reality and realize that no matter how much we don’t want to, we still have to take responsibility for our lives. Whether that's finishing school, going to that 9-5 that doesn’t pay us enough, or just simply paying them bills, keeping gas in our tanks, and food in our stomachs.

Honestly though, almost 5 years ago I thought I’d be preparing for college and getting ready to enjoy the next couple of years of my life meeting new people, and getting a degree for a decent paying job. However, that was just a thought. It was also not my own thought, because I never really wanted to go off to school. That’s just what everyone expected out of an honor student who did well in school. But this honor student was stressed out with anxiety, and on her way to depression. I was tired. I mean TIRED. Because LIFE.

I had two funerals that year, taking early college courses that stressed me out, and the few friends I had were for the most part younger than me. So while I was preparing to leave school, they had another year. Which means I was alone a lot of the time. I started working an amazing job ,fresh out of school, with kids. But then, life came knocking on my door and changed things up once again. Had to say goodbye and moved out of state. From there moved out about 3 more times, and still didn’t really have an idea of what I wanted to do. Because in school instead of coming to a conclusion on what I wanted to do, I was doing what people expected me to do.

Truthfully, it’s my ‘people pleasing trait’ that keeps showing out. I was scared of being the ‘disappointment’ that instead of doing what I loved or trying out new things, I was just doing things that people expected and earned me praise. Forgetting that no matter what I do I am naturally good at once I put my mind to it (yes, I am very confident in that statement). I kept forgetting that no matter what I did, someone wasn’t going to like it anyway.

So now almost 5 years later, I am figuring myself out at the age of 22. Slowly but surely. With 23 knocking at my door, and a mind full of ideas, I’m taking it day by day and finding myself again and what I want to do. Until then, I’m just going to continue to take care of myself and my grandma, and hope that people can relate and support my work.

I honestly don’t think I’ll ever be able to answer the question, “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”, because nothing is ever for sure. Things happen and things change every single day. I mean hey, look how Covid still has the U.S in a choke hold! But everyone is different and experiences life differently. Some are more blessed than others. There’s also those who know what they want to do, compared to most, like myself. Praise to you guys!

I may not be able to answer this question, but let me ask you:

Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?

Humanity
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About the Creator

K.J.George

✨ An overactive mind put into words

✨ Favorite coping mechanism

✨ Fiction Fanatic

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