Monday of this week marks my 32
nd year on this planet, and often when my birthday passes, I become reflective of my life. Specifically I judge where I am at, compared to where I thought I would be at. This is the time for me to examine both my personal and professional objectives.
Needless to say, I did not envision myself in my third year of university at this age. I was supposed to be working some comfy office job that paid me exorbitant sums of cash for my genius. But, I went a different route than the norm. Out of high school I started working full time and, well, the money seemed good. The jobs, however, were less than desirable. I realized that I was working these jobs that I hated, and that if something didn’t change I would be stuck there for my entire career. Thus, I quit my job and enrolled in school full time.
Making this decision has had a tremendous impact on my “life progression.” First off, I had planned to be living in my own condo at this time, something that I was paying off monthly and that would give me something to show for it. Instead, I am a renter, and the prospect of this changing is years off in the future. I have tens-of-thousands of dollars I owe in student loans which will need to be paid off long before saving up for a down payment is possible.
Personally, I am still single. After having a serious five-year relationship when I was younger, I have had several casual boyfriends over the years, but nothing too time-consuming. This is something that I feel I should work on, but in reality I don’t have the time for anything serious. My ability to juggle two jobs and school is dependent on not being dependent on someone else.
Finally, I had pictured myself having some sort of family started by this point. I think of my father, who by the time he was 28 had two children. At 32 I have none, nor any prospects of any for a long time. It is somewhat bothersome to see all my friends on Facebook starting to pop out children, but this can be tricky with my life at the moment.
Don’t get me wrong, though. While what I am saying may seem like I am not on my expected life path, I do really enjoy the life I have. Although I do not own a condo, I like the apartment I rent and am quite comfortable living there. Despite being single, it is kind of nice not have to devote that element of my life to any one person, my best friends excepted. I don’t have my own little family like my chums from high school, but I have my cat and that gets me through the night.
I am trekking on an unknown path that has adventures and perils around every corner. It may not be what I had planned on, but it is sure worth the trip.
Jon
Needless to say, I did not envision myself in my third year of university at this age. I was supposed to be working some comfy office job that paid me exorbitant sums of cash for my genius. But, I went a different route than the norm. Out of high school I started working full time and, well, the money seemed good. The jobs, however, were less than desirable. I realized that I was working these jobs that I hated, and that if something didn’t change I would be stuck there for my entire career. Thus, I quit my job and enrolled in school full time.
Making this decision has had a tremendous impact on my “life progression.” First off, I had planned to be living in my own condo at this time, something that I was paying off monthly and that would give me something to show for it. Instead, I am a renter, and the prospect of this changing is years off in the future. I have tens-of-thousands of dollars I owe in student loans which will need to be paid off long before saving up for a down payment is possible.
Personally, I am still single. After having a serious five-year relationship when I was younger, I have had several casual boyfriends over the years, but nothing too time-consuming. This is something that I feel I should work on, but in reality I don’t have the time for anything serious. My ability to juggle two jobs and school is dependent on not being dependent on someone else.
Finally, I had pictured myself having some sort of family started by this point. I think of my father, who by the time he was 28 had two children. At 32 I have none, nor any prospects of any for a long time. It is somewhat bothersome to see all my friends on Facebook starting to pop out children, but this can be tricky with my life at the moment.
Don’t get me wrong, though. While what I am saying may seem like I am not on my expected life path, I do really enjoy the life I have. Although I do not own a condo, I like the apartment I rent and am quite comfortable living there. Despite being single, it is kind of nice not have to devote that element of my life to any one person, my best friends excepted. I don’t have my own little family like my chums from high school, but I have my cat and that gets me through the night.
I am trekking on an unknown path that has adventures and perils around every corner. It may not be what I had planned on, but it is sure worth the trip.
Jon
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