I Have Changed

Recently I noticed that my outlook on life has shifted. I am not sure when it happened or how – but it has thrown me for a loop.

When I finished university everything was about me. I had invested money in an education that would help me find a job and blast me into a serious career. That would have worked out except that I decided to backpack for a few months instead and use all the money I had left. The purpose of my trip was to have new experiences and learn something about myself. I came back with more peace of mind than I had ever had.

More than a year has passed since I returned home and I am struggling with new challenges. I have a contract position with a large company, but how do I make that into a full-time endeavour? How do I save more money? How do I afford to move out? How do I save for my wedding, kids, a property? Two years ago I would never have thought about these questions. Something has changed recently. So my biggest question is: when did I grow up?

I am not sure how many young people struggle with the answers to these questions. Where do you start unraveling the puzzle and finding the solution? I have posed these questions to my father and he provides me with the best answers he can. But he grew up in a time less hostile than ours. Our world today is competitive and gruelling; every man/woman for him/herself. They don’t tell you what the world is really like when you go through school. No one prepares you with the knowledge required to make informed and sound decisions regarding your future. Many people think that they will go through university, get a degree, and bingo you have a job. I can tell you, that is not how it is.

I suppose the purpose of this post is to get people thinking and talking about their own futures. To prepare yourself as much as possible for what awaits in the real world; it’s a big place and it’s easy to get lost. For those of you who have traversed this phase of your life already – how did you make it? And for those of you who are walking this unknown path as I am, what are you concerns? Do you have a plan to make it through? Growing up is a part of life. It happens sooner for some of us, later for others. The important part is the path we take to achieve our personal aspirations.