Are you living a life you envisioned for yourself when you were younger?

[Jara sang]

I don't think I had any real vision for myself when I graduated from high school. Of course, I thought that I was immortal and that I couldn't be bothered with such things as planning for the future. About five years ago I had to readjust my outlook and philosophy and I feel that I am coming to grips with mortality. As for the living my dreams part, back then I dreamed of being a debonair world traveler, who could be at home in any place from Djakarta to Prague to San Francisco, I've traveled quite a bit but not internationally and I am content with that, I still have a lot of years.

[wtmusic]

1. Didja have to bring THAT up?

:(

[Erika]

2. My co-worker has a sign in his office

"This is not the life I ordered". I smile every time I see it.

[Lorien]

3. I dreamed of being an artist; either illustrating

children's books or animating for Disney. I have a number of screen credits now-five of which were on animated films for Disney. I'm also illustrating children's books for a major publisher.The one thing I did envision that never happened was a busy social life and a husband. My fellow artists aren't very social people, so that just hasn't worked out.

[Left Is Write]

4. Not entirely, no.

I always envisioned myself having a career and then staying home to raise children. I'm staying home now.

But I also hoped I'd be a working, freelance writer from home while raising my children. So far, that ain't happening.

[gardenista]

5. OMG, you just reminded me of something sooooo funny.

Apparently I developed an vision for myself when I was about 8 years old, in which I would be a famous something (doctor?), live in a NY penthouse with lots of white shag carpeting, have a dog, and no husband or kids, but lots of clothes. This was the persona I created for my barbie doll, and she had lots of fun.

Well, it didn't turn out that way, but I still love the 8 year old imagination that came up with that as an escape from the chaotic childhood I had.

So, to answer your question, no, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

[ThoughtCriminal]

6. Better than I expected

My earlier self would be shocked. Things looked pretty bleak in early 20's.

[SmokingJacket]

7. Certain things are eerily similar to what I envisioned...

Thought I'd marry a thin guy with dark hair -- check. Thought I'd live in a small yellow house with a garden -- check. I have the career I always imagined, though it's much harder than I thought it would be.

Thought I would travel a lot, though. Somehow I lost the urge/desire/ need to do that.

Also -- I thought I'd have at least one daughter, but I only have sons. This still seems weird.

[Rowdyboy]

8. My life is far different, and far better than I imagined....

I thought I'd be more financially and professionally successful; I never dreamed I'd be so happy, content, and fulfilled.

[Pied Piper]

38. Echo that, RowdyBoy

I had hoped to be doing something else professionally, but I didn't expect to be so satisfied with where my life is headed. I am doing much of what I wanted to do, but now I'm volunteering those services, much to my great satisfaction. And I also love my day job, so who should complain?

Maybe we dems have a greater capacity to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. I'll never get rich (monetarily) at what I'm doing now, but I'm far more "wealthy" than i ever imagined!

Best wishes to all who chose their own paths, whatever the financial costs (within reason, of course).

Pied Piper

[Pied Piper]

39. PS!

You never know what kind of curve balls that life will throw your way. I think your best bet is to (mentally) prepare yourself for whatever happens, then you won't be so shocked.

I'm a bit hesitant to share my long story on a chat board, but suffice it to say, it took many years and many tears to come to a point where it all makes sense to me.

Of course, it was not at all like I planned, but it has been ever so satisfiying. That is not to deny all the pain that was an inevitable response to growth, but as they say, "What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger!".

I say, "Try to kill me again". You won't succeed this time, either!

Pied Piper

[Rowdyboy]

40. One of my favorite cliches is "Life is what happens while you're making

plans". I sometimes wonder how different things might have been had I taken other paths, but I have few regrets. There's been plenty of pain to go around, but pain is part of the process of living, and I learned it isn't fatal. Finding a real, committed love made all the difference in my life.

Just be prepared for life's curve balls (hell, sometimes they're BASKETBALLS) but don't obsess over them. Don't take yourself too seriously and learn how to truly enjoy simple things like good food, good books and gardens.

I don't dislike children, but the best thing that ever happened to me was not fathering a child. The financial and emotional responsibility of fatherhood was simply not in my make-up. I'm better off, and the potential child is too.

[thecai]

9. Not Even Close

stuff happens.

[Cannikin]

10. Not just no, but HELL no!

[Floogeldy]

11. Yes and No

I wanted to "make it" as a rock musician ever since high school, but even back then I was attracted to the idea of being a lawyer.

Well, I played music professionally until I was in my early thirties.

Then I went back to college and law school, even though I had never really thought about being a lawyer since high school.

B-)

[Ready4Change]

12. Not even close.

In so many ways.

Partially because I had MANY visions for my future. That, combined with a vivid and prolific imagination, made many of those visions totally unobtainable.

However, even the realistic ones aren't accurate. And while in many ways I think my current position would dissapoint my younger self, the one thing that has given me the most trouble of late is something of which my younger self would be immensely proud.

I've got a ways to go to earn that childs full approval, though.

[leftofthedial]

13. nofuckingwhere near

[Deja Q]

14. Yes, but change is imminent.

I may have been too late for my surgery; I seem to get weaker by the day. can't walk half the distance I used to without feeling pain... Sweating at lower temps too, but that's a separate issue.

I intend to live my remaining days as well as I can. But I know my time is coming.

[senseandsensibility]

20. Oh, HypnoToad

I'm so sorry. Please try to be positive. I know that's easier than it sounds, but we need you on DU!!

[Deja Q]

29. Thanks!

I'll admit life wouldn't be the same without DU either! I'm not planning on hoisting my own petard or anything, and I will try to be positive.

[ChoralScholar]

15. I think so...

I always wanted to have my own choir program, to steer as I saw fit. Now I do. And I have been successful.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

16. I loved Harry Belafonte, listened to him all the time

And envisioned myself living on a tropical island. I now live on a boat on a tropical island. So yes. And very happy!

[enigmatic]

17. I'm actually shocked I'm still alive...

I figured that I was going to committ slow suicide by my excesses; I'd reach 30 at the most. I'm glad I got a few more lives left in me..

[Droopy]

18. Not really

About the time I was 16 I realized that I wasn't college material and went to a trade school to learn printing. I thought I was going to get out of high school and step right into a union job at a big print shop. Well, that didn't work out. I ended up at a mom and pop joint making $5 an hour. After a few years of that and not really getting anywhere I decided to go to college despite my earlier misgivings. I did really well my first two years carrying a 3.6 GPA and steadily working towards my degree in environmental science. Then at the end of my sophomore year I was struck down with mental illness. I didn't know what was going on with me, but I knew that I could not handle college anymore and I dropped out. It would be almost ten years before I got the treatment I needed. In that time I decided to become a truck driver. I wanted to see the country, but the move was made more with the solitude of the job in mind. I couldn't stand to be around people. They made me paranoid. After a while of being a trucker I realized that I could not hide from everybody for the rest of my life and finally sought treatment. I'm still a truck driver now, a sane one, and it's something that I never envisioned myself doing until I was 24 years old. I tried going back to school recently in an effort to move up on the pay scale, but mental illness has robbed me of a lot of my ability to learn and remember. It didn't work out. I'll probably be a trucker for the rest of my life.

[Redstone]

19. No. The kind of work that I do didn't even exist

20 years ago. And was in its infancy when I started my business in 1991.

So there was no way to envision it.

Redstone

[Left Is Write]

24. But did you envision operating your own business of some kind?

[Redstone]

30. Not really. I never thought about the future at all, really...

and continue to be pretty much oblivious to this day. Really. Just went from whatever seemed like a good idea at the time, to whatever seemed like a good idea at a later time.

Can you tell I'm a ADD adult, and old enough that when I was a kid, nobody know about ADD?

Redstone

[senseandsensibility]

21. I told my first grade teacher

that I wanted to be a teacher, and I am! But then again, I WAS a bit of a brownnoser back then.:)

[Hugin]

22. Two words... Heck no!

I'm not even living the life I envisioned
before 2000.

And it's all down hill.

[Lady Effingbroke]

23. Pretty much.

Barely scraping by, hanging on by the skin of my toenails...yup, just as I imagined my future at age 16 (I was a very realistic teenager).

[last_texas_dem]

25. No

Well, in some ways, yes; but actually more in line with what I wanted out of my future life when I was a child than when I was in high school (I had greater aspirations as a teenager, I guess).

I'm still young enough (21) to justify things not quite panning out as planned and my own confusion about what to do next by continually hoping for things to improve in the future. But within the last year I've had to more realistically examine what I'm supposed to do with this future that is no longer so distant anymore. And I've matured enough to start accepting that more and more what I will get out of it will be largely dependent upon what I put into it; it's realizing what I have/will have to do to get the most out of it that is the most perplexing question.

[gauguin57]

26. In high school, my major ambition was to someday dance on "Soul Train"

This was back in the mid-1970s, when Don Cornelius used to interview the African-American acts, and if they had a white backup singer, he'd sidle up to her and say, "soul sister!" I was determined to be one of those Caucasian soul sisters on Soul Train ... doing the line dance. I coulda been a contendah!

So, no, I'm not living the life I envisioned. But I've had a pretty good ride, even though I never got to dance on Soul Train. Or even "American Bandstand."

"... Hang onto that spot you got ... and you can bet your last money, it's ALLLL gonna be a soul gas, honey! As always, in parting, we wish you love ... peace ... and SOUL!"

[Dastard Stepchild]

27. No... but that is a good thing....

I never expected to be applying to PhD programs. I'll be doing so this fall. My life has taken an unexpected, but much adored, turn. Plus, I am married. Never counted on that happening.

:hi:

[sundog]

28. yes & no... but life is a mixed bag

generally, I have much to be thankful for :)

[Rabrrrrrr]

31. Not even close, except for the satisfaction and happiness

But in terms where I would be living, what I would have done, and what I would be doing for a living - I was WAY WAY off!

And that's okay. This is much better than what I had planned, which I see now would have been an empty suburban life devoid of meaning but with a lot of stuff.

[In_The_Wind]

32. Not at all.

However ~ I'm happy about many of the aspects regarding my life today. I believe the years ahead of me will be even better.

[bikebloke]

33. Yes and no

When I finished high school, I wanted to do something useful. Not waste away shuffling paper in an office. Air traffic control looked interesting. Never reached there, though I have a wee degree for study in that area. I also wanted to travel and see some of the world. That I have done. Many times I was poor in the pocket, but gathered a wealth of experience and knowledge. I'm glad I went off the career & family script.

[El Fuego]

34. Yes actually, and it sucks big time.

Went to college, have a great job and career, and I HATE IT!!!!!

[flvegan]

35. Financially worse, emotionally and karmically MUCH better.

Physical well-being much, much better.

I've already figured out which is more important.

[ernstbass]

36. No

[cedahlia]

37. Wow...no!

My 13 year old self saw my 20-something self moving to Seattle, where I would work in a coffee shop, sing in a band, and marry Eddie Vedder.

13 years later, I actually live out in the country, nowhere near the state of Washington, I work in a public library, have never been in a band, and I am married...but not to Eddie Vedder! :-)

Even though my 13 year old self may be have been disappointed in me...I am actually quite happy! Still, it would be cool to visit Seattle one day. ;-)