If you asked me seven years ago where I’d be today, it wouldn’t be here.
When I was 20, I thought I was well on my way to becoming the next Barbara Walters. I was going to be living in NYC, of course, and living in an apartment overlooking Central Park. I would maybe be dating someone, but it probably wouldn’t be serious.
At the age of 27, I left my journalism career behind for a track in Public Relations. I’ve never lived in NYC, but my husband and I did do a stint in Dothan, Ala. and now Birmingham and we own a house. I’ve been with a wonderful man for almost seven years, and we’ve been married for almost two.
Life didn’t exactly turn out like I planned it to. At 20, I thought I’d be miserable if I didn’t get all of those things. I’m not miserable though… I’m quite the opposite! This new track of life has set different goals and dreams in motion.
That doesn’t mean I don’t feel the tiniest hint of jealousy when classmates have the anchor job I always thought I wanted or that if somehow found my way onto being the host of a talk show, I wouldn’t love it. It doesn’t mean, every time I visit NYC, I don’t get the smallest regret I never had my chance to live there. Here’s the secret though…that’s okay that I feel that way.
People want to tell you that those feelings aren’t okay. Why? Because inside of my 27-year-old self, there’s still the 20-year-old, or the 17-year-old that was destined for Broadway, or the 15-year-old that wanted to be a forensic detective (it was a phase, I don’t know). And inside of my 27 is the reasons that I’m happy I work in a career that I’m constantly challenged, without leaving feeling broken at the end of each day. Inside my 27, I’m happy to live in a city like Birmingham, where there’s an amazing amount to do, and there’s nature, and we can afford to own a house. Inside my 27, I’m happy that I’m not casually dating, because my friend’s stories about Tinder terrify me and I’m happy that I’m with someone that isn’t just a husband and a friend, but my partner in life.
Plans change, but so do you. So where do I see my self in seven years? At the age of 34, I see myself happy.
Where do you see yourself?
October 27, 2016
