the future

"what do you want to be when you grow up? "

a question we are asked our whole lives.
a question i still find myself contemplating.
although i guess its not as much of a what do i want to be but who do i want to be?
what do i want my life to look like?
what do i want out of my life?
and how the hell does anyone have the questions to this?

the future is not guaranteed.
i have seen that in my life plenty. from friends passing away at young ages, to individuals i know having miscarriages, to divorces, to family members suffering through diseases no one should have to suffer through. even another second on this planet is not guaranteed.
yet we all spend our whole lives planning for the future.
all growing up we focus on college, after college we focus on a job, then there's marriage, and kids, and retirement, and so on. its exhausting just to think about.
why are we so unable to just live in the moment?

i love the innocence of youth.
i look at my 3 year old nephew and he could care less who he will play with at preschool tomorrow, let alone where his life will be in 10 years.
so what changes?
when do we go from living in the moment to stressing over every detail of life?
why and how does this happen?

moving forward i want to attempt to live like a child.
not stress about the future.
of course i will still plan for it, budgeting, planning trips, things like that.
however i do not want to stress over the finer details of life.
in my experience even the best laid plans often get messed up just by life happening.
what is meant to be will fall into place and the details will work themselves out.

my generation

we are selfish.
we want things to come easily.
we want instant gratification.
we love technology.
we have passion for things.
we like to follow our passion.
we like to do things that matter.
we wont stick with a job just for longevity.
we want to enjoy what we do.
we always wonder if what we have is all that we could have.
we are always searching for more.
we like to solve things with an antibiotic.
we enjoy living in comfort.
overall, we are a pretty strange bunch.
but what generation isnt?

a couple years ago i took a class on generational differences in the workplace, but it really opened my eyes to so much more. there are so many differences from generation to generation. influenced by how the previous generation raised us. influenced by what is going on in the world around us. influenced by pop culture.
on a daily basis interact with just about every generation. i talk to people on the phone ranging in age from 18 all the way to 90+. seeing the differences really is so intriguing to me. i have so much respect for the generations that came before us, but i have just as much respect for the generations coming after us as well. its just a different kind of respect.
my grandparents sacrificed a lot, stuck with jobs for longevity, saved every last penny the could, and found their own comfortable.
my parents (well maybe not my parents specifically, but my parents generation), began job hopping a little more, began more innovation, tried to "keep up with the joneses", and still sacrificed a hell of a lot for their kids, although they also raised an awful lot of latchkey kids trying to have a plush lifestyle.
me? well i kind of described that above...
and those younger than me? well im still not sure what to think of them yet, although i do expect to see some amazing things come out of that generation. with all of the advantages they have, how could they not do amazing things? if we can just get them out from behind their phones/ipads/tv's constantly - they would see how truly amazing they are.

it amazes me just how different every generation is, but yet how similar we all are too. we all have hopes, dreams, passions, aspire to be something, have fears, stresses, and love.
funny the things that hold us all together. the things we can relate to each other through.
it intrigues me.

more to come on this subject...i am sure.