* Final for Expository Writing, we were asked what our goals for the next 10-20 years were, and here's what I said.
As a goal oriented person, it might seem strange to find that I do not have many long term goals in place. In everyday life I am continually making lists and goals for things I want to get done over the week’s time. My calendar is always close by to make sure any new situation, event, appoint, can be fit in. So it may be odd that I do not really have a clear cut idea as to what I want to do in my future. For me the reason is simple: I do not like change. Once I set a goal or have a plan as to how I want things to go, it is extremely hard for me to let go of that idea and go a different way. God has taught me it is better if I just let Him take of the future and focus on the now. That being said, I do have some idea as to what I where I want to be in about ten years….a college graduate, working a job I love and perhaps preparing to find someone to spend the rest of my life with.
My goal is to graduate with my associates’ degree in Photography and perhaps return and complete my degree in Web Design. College is extremely important to me at this point in my life, as it will dictate what types of jobs I will be qualified for in the future. But on a personal level, it is more than that as it is an opportunity to show myself that I can accomplish something I set out to do. Two years into my “college career” I moved to Tennessee and changed my major from Web Design to Photography, I have hit a mental road block knowing that I am starting over. While my self confidence is strong in some respects, the doubts that I can actually get a degree and be good in said field still linger. I need to complete this to prove to myself that I can do it, one semester down, three more to go.
My next goal would be finding “the” job for me; at the time of this writing, I have worked at four different part time jobs. I am more than ready to find a position that I not only can excel at but move up in as well. I want to be able to enjoy my job enough that I would be willing to stick with it year after year. I am not a materialist person and money is not enough of a motivator to keep me in a job I do not like, so I will do whatever it takes to find the job that I will be happy doing for at least five years. In my mind that perfect job would be running my own photography business.
My third goal becomes a little hazy, as I know this is where God will have to step in and help out. Once I have completed my schooling, had some time in a career, enjoyed life as a single person…. I want to find that person who I can spend the rest of my life with. This is exactly what I mean when I say “I do not have many plans for my future”, I know I have this idea in my mind as the way my life wants to go, but if God has something better, sooner, then I need to be willing to leave my plans behind and take what He is offering me, because I know that it will work out so much better. At the same time I can still prepare for whenever that time period is, by saving my money and getting me to a point where I can be a help meet to someone. I am an observer and I like to watch the marriages I see around me and take note. I listen to how other women talk about and to their husbands, and how their husbands treat their wives. There are I things about myself I want to have changed before I get into a serious relationship with someone and I want to spend this time working towards that goal.
Life is a funny thing to try to plan around but we do our best. I look forward to the day when I can walk down the aisle clothed in the polyester robe wearing my flat tasseled hat, and receive my diploma from Pellissippi State Community College. I cannot wait until I spend my days doing something I love and make money at it too; and most of all I am excited to see who God has for me later in life. Ten to twenty years seems like a long time now, but I know it will fly by.