A message to '05 grads.

I went for a nice walk and a cup of coffee with an old friend yesterday.  We haven't seen one another much over the past... hmm... probably 5 years.  We worked at camp together back in the day, but have connected a few times lately and as a result set up a coffee date.  The weather was gorgeous, and it was a wonderful outing.

We both graduated from high school in 2005, meaning we've been out for over 6 years now, both with an undergraduate degree under our belts.  Our discussion was a lot about what's happening for us now and what's next?  

We talked a lot about living with expiry dates.  By that I mean moving somewhere or doing something with a particular end date.  For example, I signed a contract for my current job, committing to 2 years with the organization.  I moved here knowing that it would only be for 2 years, unless plans changed for some reason, but I had some sense of when I'd be "free to go", so to speak.  Both of us agreed that this is a nice position to be in, because it means during the tough times that there's a "light at the end of the tunnel", and also that while you're doing one thing, you can simultaneously dream about what's next and have some sense of when that might happen.

We also talked about our lives not being what we expected.  We both have some parts of our life that we were thrilled with, and other parts that we didn't really imagine having.  I wouldn't go so far as to say that I feel alone in my current way of life, but I guess I didn't realize that the way I feel about my life is the way most people my age feel.  My big thing is that I've got a great job and a great life, but the town where I'm living doesn't quite meet my needs.  But then my friend and I also discussed that many of our friends who live in Toronto are working at jobs they don't really like or don't get paid much for or aren't relevant to what they really want to get into, etc., etc.  Maybe the moral of the story for us '05 high school grads is that we can't have it all... yet.  We've gotta decide what our priorities are - is it great work experience?  Is it a great place to live?  Because right now in life we maybe can't afford to balance all of our priorities - both financially, and in other ways.  Maybe we don't have enough experience yet to get our dream job, maybe we can't afford rent in a big city unless we're getting tips as a bartender/server.  It could be a lot of different factors, but the bottom line is that we're 24 - we don't need to have it all; we just need to be patient.

So that's the post!  It's nice to gain some perspective and realize that you're not alone.  I should remember to check in with fellow '05 grads 5 years from now and see where we're at.