My Personal Vision for the Future
5th Grade
I have just begun my senior year of high school, and I’ve probably never had less of an idea where I’d like to be in twenty years. Since my childhood, I’ve toyed with dreams of becoming an author, a lawyer, a psychologist, or even a pilot, but these come and go and are continuously replaced by new passions and interests. This past summer probably gave me a much clearer idea, strangely enough by erasing any plans I had about what I wanted to do with my life.
For two months in the summer, I lived with a host family in Paraguay doing volunteer work through an organization called Amigos de las Americas. What was so incredible about it was that the work was absolutely necessary (we constructed eighteen sanitary latrines, began a community garden, taught health classes in a local elementary school, and built a health center!) and there was a true purpose to it. Though we had a lot of work between organizing, fundraising, teaching, etc, we weren’t stressed even when we faced obstacles, which was really novel to me and has to do with the entire culture of Paraguay. In our community, the men labored hard in brick factories, and the women equally so, cooking each meal from scratch, doing the laundry by hand, and raising their children. But instead of being overwhelmed and stressed by endless amounts of chores each day, they took each task on its own and enjoyed it. In the factories, the men would work with their friends and take breaks to sit around and drink their national drink, tereré, which is a very social and meditative custom. The women at home would laugh and joke as they worked, getting things done as they had time for them, and enjoying their labor. Each day the men would come home for lunch, and the whole family would be together. Each morning and each night, everyone would sit around the fire and drink mate cocido, a milky hot version of tereré, telling stories, joking, and enjoying their lives. Those times warming up around the fire with a family that became my own are the happiest memories of my life. I was completely removed from everything I’m accustomed to in the United States, but my life never felt fuller.
I have gotten straight A’s since elementary school trying to prepare myself for college. I have obsessed and stressed out about college applications for as long as I can remember, dedicating all my time to my studies and forgoing sleep to finish my homework. Sure, I’ve had a lot of fun times too, but on the whole I’ve also been very tired and depressed. This summer made me realize that all I really want is to be happy, and it’s perfectly achievable because I found happiness in Paraguay. I’ve discovered that what makes me the happiest is just enjoying my life, even my work, trying new things and being adventurous, and spending time with the people around me. It sounds simple enough, but I’m sure it will be challenging to achieve the calm and stress free life that I want because I have to convince myself to let things go and remember what is really important. So for the next twenty years and beyond, I just want to be happy and feel the way I did in the past summer, no matter where I am or what I’m doing.
I don’t want to sacrifice myself and the present for the future, which is the path I believe I was headed on before my grand awakening. My biggest fear is that I’ll wind up in a job or a place I don’t really like, and I won’t have the strength or the courage to switch jobs or change my life because it will be hard and I’ll have to start completely from scratch. I also don’t want to put up with an unhappy present in the hopes of better things in the future. I certainly don’t want to be “in it for the money” or tied down by economics. I’m not sure what will make me happy in twenty years, but I’m not too worried about it because I’ll figure it out as I go, and I have a loose plan.
I’d like to begin with an education. I like being capable and knowing how to do things and I like being intelligent. I hope to attend a four year university and study liberal arts, which I find interesting and very broad, so there are a lot of options. I will take a variety of courses, exploring whatever appeals to me, and then make some decisions. I’ll continue with a career related to my interests, and possibly get a masters degree and continue in my field, whatever it may end up being. I may switch jobs if I find something else more pleasing, which could mean going back to school. Whatever it is I end up doing, I want it to be useful and to have a purpose. I want to make a difference, not necessarily in such a grand scheme as the world, but certainly I want to touch people’s lives.
Relationships are very important to me. They are comforting and supportive and I believe happiness and love go hand in hand. In twenty years I hope I have some very intimate and interesting friends, and I would also like to have a family. I hope to be happily married and have two or three children. I want to take time to be a stay at home mom for my kids during their childhood. I want to be there for them and take them to parks and museums. I want to cook new and exciting dishes for them and with them and be very involved in their lives.
I really want to travel. I want to explore the world and discover different cultures. I have a real interest in South America, and I’d love to maybe even live or work there. I want to backpack around Latin America. I want to be independent and strong, unafraid of pursuing what I want and unafraid of maybe getting a little lost, both literally in my travels, and figuratively in life.
I want to be in love with life and the world. I want to dedicate myself to the pursuit of happiness. I want to live each day, not necessarily as my last, but definitely to the fullest. I am seventeen years old. I have a lifetime ahead of me, and that is exciting! There’s so much opportunity of what I can do and experience, and I just want to take advantage of it all by being open to whatever might happen.
For two months in the summer, I lived with a host family in Paraguay doing volunteer work through an organization called Amigos de las Americas. What was so incredible about it was that the work was absolutely necessary (we constructed eighteen sanitary latrines, began a community garden, taught health classes in a local elementary school, and built a health center!) and there was a true purpose to it. Though we had a lot of work between organizing, fundraising, teaching, etc, we weren’t stressed even when we faced obstacles, which was really novel to me and has to do with the entire culture of Paraguay. In our community, the men labored hard in brick factories, and the women equally so, cooking each meal from scratch, doing the laundry by hand, and raising their children. But instead of being overwhelmed and stressed by endless amounts of chores each day, they took each task on its own and enjoyed it. In the factories, the men would work with their friends and take breaks to sit around and drink their national drink, tereré, which is a very social and meditative custom. The women at home would laugh and joke as they worked, getting things done as they had time for them, and enjoying their labor. Each day the men would come home for lunch, and the whole family would be together. Each morning and each night, everyone would sit around the fire and drink mate cocido, a milky hot version of tereré, telling stories, joking, and enjoying their lives. Those times warming up around the fire with a family that became my own are the happiest memories of my life. I was completely removed from everything I’m accustomed to in the United States, but my life never felt fuller.
I have gotten straight A’s since elementary school trying to prepare myself for college. I have obsessed and stressed out about college applications for as long as I can remember, dedicating all my time to my studies and forgoing sleep to finish my homework. Sure, I’ve had a lot of fun times too, but on the whole I’ve also been very tired and depressed. This summer made me realize that all I really want is to be happy, and it’s perfectly achievable because I found happiness in Paraguay. I’ve discovered that what makes me the happiest is just enjoying my life, even my work, trying new things and being adventurous, and spending time with the people around me. It sounds simple enough, but I’m sure it will be challenging to achieve the calm and stress free life that I want because I have to convince myself to let things go and remember what is really important. So for the next twenty years and beyond, I just want to be happy and feel the way I did in the past summer, no matter where I am or what I’m doing.
I don’t want to sacrifice myself and the present for the future, which is the path I believe I was headed on before my grand awakening. My biggest fear is that I’ll wind up in a job or a place I don’t really like, and I won’t have the strength or the courage to switch jobs or change my life because it will be hard and I’ll have to start completely from scratch. I also don’t want to put up with an unhappy present in the hopes of better things in the future. I certainly don’t want to be “in it for the money” or tied down by economics. I’m not sure what will make me happy in twenty years, but I’m not too worried about it because I’ll figure it out as I go, and I have a loose plan.
I’d like to begin with an education. I like being capable and knowing how to do things and I like being intelligent. I hope to attend a four year university and study liberal arts, which I find interesting and very broad, so there are a lot of options. I will take a variety of courses, exploring whatever appeals to me, and then make some decisions. I’ll continue with a career related to my interests, and possibly get a masters degree and continue in my field, whatever it may end up being. I may switch jobs if I find something else more pleasing, which could mean going back to school. Whatever it is I end up doing, I want it to be useful and to have a purpose. I want to make a difference, not necessarily in such a grand scheme as the world, but certainly I want to touch people’s lives.
Relationships are very important to me. They are comforting and supportive and I believe happiness and love go hand in hand. In twenty years I hope I have some very intimate and interesting friends, and I would also like to have a family. I hope to be happily married and have two or three children. I want to take time to be a stay at home mom for my kids during their childhood. I want to be there for them and take them to parks and museums. I want to cook new and exciting dishes for them and with them and be very involved in their lives.
I really want to travel. I want to explore the world and discover different cultures. I have a real interest in South America, and I’d love to maybe even live or work there. I want to backpack around Latin America. I want to be independent and strong, unafraid of pursuing what I want and unafraid of maybe getting a little lost, both literally in my travels, and figuratively in life.
I want to be in love with life and the world. I want to dedicate myself to the pursuit of happiness. I want to live each day, not necessarily as my last, but definitely to the fullest. I am seventeen years old. I have a lifetime ahead of me, and that is exciting! There’s so much opportunity of what I can do and experience, and I just want to take advantage of it all by being open to whatever might happen.