Oh, that's tricky, mostly because I believe it's about the journey more so than the destination.
(Or that's just my way of making myself feel better about not knowing what the hell I want to do with my life.)
Really though, I don't want to say something like, "By the time I'm however old, I'd like to have achieved x, y, and z." Because I've done that, and was incredibly disappointed when it didn't work out. I didn't do it in the conventional sense (i.e. I want to finish college, get married, and have babies), but I did it nonetheless: I want to get a degree in creative writing, then go on to get an MFA in poetry, teach creative writing, and live happily ever after.
I scared the shit out of myself when real life caused me to deviate from that path. So. No more of that. Because, as John Lennon says, "Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans."
That's not to say that I'm entirely without ambition, however. Here's a list of a few of the things I'd like to do within the next several years:
Graduate from college
None of my family members--on either side--ever have.
Move somewhere other than Michigan
Another state, another country? I'm Canadian, after all.
Live in commune
This one always surprises people/turns them off, but I'm not sure why. I had a conversation with a friend once about polyamory. Neither of us understands the line between friendship and more, but we agreed that for us at least, it isn't sex. She told me that rather than be in a monogamous relationship with someone, she'd like to take eight or so people she really loves and have them all move into a house together and take care of each other.
I really liked that idea and think it's something that would work for me. I also think that it may explain why I've been in so few relationships but have really close bonds with quite a few friends. But I hadn't even thought about it until she mentioned it to me. Living arrangements like that--probably because this is a capitalist society--aren't exactly looked upon kindly. But I think the idea behind them is really beautiful, and I'd love to experience something like that.
--
I've mentioned before that as a teenager, I spent a week each summer at the Controlled Burn Seminar for Young Writers. I was in a poetry workshop with Mary Ann Samyn. And one year, she gave each of her students an individual assignment. I don't actually remember what mine was. But my friend Liz was asked to write a letter to herself, ten years in the future. Her poem was titled, "Oh, Lady. Don't Be Forlorn."
That's really all I want. For everyone.
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