What Next?

Feb 23, 2017 · 4 min read

I have always been the person who is thinking ahead. Whether it be what I will be doing 5 minutes from now, or 5 years from now, I’m the person you can go to who is dreaming up something for the future. I have been this way ever since I was little. When I was younger, I would be eating breakfast and ask what is for lunch, be eating lunch and ask what was for dinner, and sometimes even be eating dinner and would then ask what we would be having for breakfast the next day. Now, I am beginning to ask where I am going in my life, and what I will be doing next. Living in the moment is something with which I must be extremely intentional, and am learning to do.
I feel as if this question is always relevant. In everything we do in life, we need to be looking ahead — there is always a “what next” question to be asked, especially as we are constantly moving, learning and evolving. Just think, when I was younger, my “what next” was what yummy food would I be eating next(I’ve always been a food lover), but now I am looking at the bigger picture in regards to my future as a whole.
As I was getting ready to graduate from high school, my big “what next” was college — where will I be going, what will I study, who will I meet — and luckily that is all I have needed to worry about up until this point in my life, and I should enjoy it while it lasts. I have many friends who are now beginning to prepare to graduate from college, and their big “what next” is where will they live? Where will they work? And what will come next with their relationships and even starting a family.
Many in our country are also left to ask the question, “What next?” About six weeks ago, a new president came into office. Many knew President Donald Trump from his large and successful presence in the real estate industry, or from his TV show “The Apprentice.” Our children will grow up to now know Donald Trump as President, and not as a reality star as I grew up knowing him. Many are now fearing for the future of our country, and are wondering “what next?” How will our relationships with other countries now grow or derail, how will immigration laws change, and will our country’s human rights values be challenged?

A “what next” question I have also grown up with is traveling with my family. I have been so extremely blessed with the opportunity to travel the world, having been to half of the contents and close to 15 countries all before I was even a legal adult. Now that I am in college, and growing up, I am begining to wonder, “what next?” Where will I travel to next? Will it be with my family, or will their travel plans now conflict with my school schedule. Will I have the opportunity to take road trips with friends or study abroad? And as I get older, will I be able to continue to travel once I am out on my own?
As we grow and our surroundings shape us into who we are meant to be, I believe there should always be a “what next?” Yes, we need to live in the moment, especially since we are only given one life, but we also need to be ready to push ourselves and grow. If we are not looking ahead, then nothing will come. If we are not wondering and dreaming of “what next?”, then when will our next adventure be or how will one achieve any goals? If we want to make a change, achieve goals, be ready for adventures, or simply not stay in the same place for too long, then “what next?” must always be something on our minds.

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What Next?

Izzy Z

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