Have you ever been asked the question, "Where do you see yourself in 5 years? How about 10 years?"

I really disdain that question.

Not because it often generates hackneyed answers from the individual who is being questioned, but because I personally find it difficult to answer. Where I see myself in the near future is not something entirely palpable. I do not have concrete plans to relocate, enroll in a graduate program, cure the common cold or climb Mount Everest. I live in the present, operating on a vague road map of where I am to go in the immediate future.

If you ask me right now where I see myself in 5 or 10 years, I would honestly tell you that I don't know.

Now, don't get me wrong; I have ambitions and goals.

- I want to travel to Italy, Great Britain, France, Switzerland and Australia.
- I want to see the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx.
- I want to see the Northern Lights.
- I want to acquire a master's degree.
- I want to participate in a triathlon.
- I want to live in Portland, Oregon once.
- I want to learn to speak basic Latin, Italian and German.

Get the idea?

The problem is, none of these things can be used as an answer to the aforementioned question.

Why?

Because, personally, where I want to be in 5 or 10 years can't be completely explained without me sounding like a self-help guru. It's more of a question of how I want to be: Self-confident, self-assured, self-reliant, self-realized, leading a simple life and at peace with every thing and every one surrounding me.

I imagine it would look something ( like this... )
Granted this obviously staged picture is a bit cheesy and I am not a champion knitter, it conveys the feeling I am going for well enough. :)