September 7, 2011
My future
I sat in front of my interviewer the other day. She graduated from NYU three years ago. She has a B.S. Degree in International Relations and French. She is currently earning her masters from NYU Stern. And there I was, sitting across from her with a B.S. Degree in Business Management from Stony Brook University, known for its science and engineering programs. I have held two internship experiences in the past, both of which were at school. As of now, I have no plans of going to graduate school. And yet, there I was 0n the 31st floor of the Third World Financial building interviewing with a Fortune 500 company with someone who is more qualified than me in almost every aspect (I forgot to mention she also played tennis for NYU) for the same title she currently holds. Needless to say, I felt intimidated. And then she asked me “So what do you want to do in the future?” The answer came quick to me. I had prepared the perfect answer in my head. “I would like to sharpen my skills in marketing and advertising. After a few years, I hope to earn an MBA in marketing and acquire a project manager or copywriter position. My goal would be to take charge of marketing campaigns that will spread a message to the masses. Billboards, television, radio, internet – I want to be able to control every aspect of a campaign and spread awareness in a creative, informative, and entertaining manner. I want to be able to drive by a billboard or turn on the TV and say ‘I made that happen.’” She said it was a nice answer and smiled. I breathed a little easier. I felt it was a good answer too. But is it going to happen?
I changed a lot from when I was a teenager. Looking back, I was a very naive person. I used to dream big. I used to plan out my life for years to come. Needless to say, many of my predictions did not come become reality. Things changed along the way and I improvised to make my life fit these changes. And now, I know better. I know I shouldn’t plan so far ahead anymore. I know it’s a bit demoralizing and definitely not a message to put in an afterschool special, but dreaming big and planning ahead for the long run is stupid. There’s really no other word for it. What about the kids who hope to grow up as pro athletes or President or movie stars, shouldn’t they be told to dream big and work hard to make their dreams come true? Sure, it’s easy to tell them that. It’s easy to say “hey you know you can be anything you want to be as long as you work hard at it.” But how often does life happen according to plan? In this world of billions of people, how many can honestly say that the life they lead now at this very second is the one they hope to be living when they were kids? Many people say that you should still at least try. “If you miss the moon, then at least you land among the stars.” But is that a good thing? If I aimed for the moon, what good is landing on a star?
I’m not saying that we shouldn’t have goals or dreams. The human race would never accomplish anything without goals and dreams. What I’m saying is at some point, we have to be realistic and realize dreams and goals are different things. Dreams aren’t real. Dreams are imagined, made up, fantasized. Goals are achievements, they’re possible. It was a dream of mine when I was a kid to play pro basketball. Now it’s a goal of mine to just play regularly with friends and hopefully I don’t get banged up too bad to go on interviews with a multimillion-dollar corporation. Life is all about changes and adaptation. Survival of the fittest and working hard to be make yourself happy. Making plans too far ahead will only diminish the happiness that you should be feeling. When things don’t work out the way they’re supposed to, feelings get hurt. If you set your expectations too high, the chance of disappointment will be higher if you fail. Then why try at all? It comes down to worth. “Nothing in this world that’s worth having comes easy.”
