A Lot Can Change in 5 Years…
See if you can relate or reflect on your own experiences as I did!
Have you ever been in a class where they ask you “Write down your plans for the next 5 years”? Or at the interview where they ask you “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”. Or maybe this question came from within: after completing the bachelor’s you wonder what’s next. As a business student, I was around this question quite a lot.
In fact, I wrote down my wishes and expectations more than once. And damn me, if those plans weren’t ambitious! I wanted to be at the top university, have a stable job that I loved given I just completed a very prestigious school, hell, even a hot girl by my side. But I would never expect to be where I am right now…
And that’s a good thing.
It Never Goes According to Plan
If you haven’t figured it out by now, you should soon. No matter how much you plan out your life, it is most definitely not going the way you imagined. And don’t get me wrong, you may achieve the goals you set out, but the road to it could be entirely different.
It goes without saying that exactly a year ago everyone’s plans went down the drain. Lots of us wanted to travel, some of us wished for our new business to flourish already, others hoped to land that sweet internship right after graduation. I’d personally be raving in Germany at yet another techno festival because it is the season for it.
So Much Has Changed
Honestly, if you met me 5 years ago, I would be a completely different person…
You probably never scrolled that far down my Instagram page. Don’t. So much cringe. Yet it reminds me of those times. Of the way I behaved and perceived things. So. Damn. Different.
Just appearance alone has changed so much, right? But that is not what I want to talk about. First, I am going to list a “few” things that happened to me or around me in the past 5 years. I wonder if anyone can relate to them.
In The Past 5 Years, I Have…
Completed a lot of “basic” milestones:
“Education is the key”, someone once said. So I graduated with my Bachelor’s. It took me an extra 1 year longer than I planned. Also, I managed to go to Germany to get my double-degree as an exchange student. Have not planned that either.
I actually did 2 paid internships in the summers of 2017 and 2018 while studying. But, none of them was fruitful in the form of future employment. Not like I planned. And to be honest, that was due to my own choices: 1st one was in Moscow, a place where I wouldn’t want to move back to, and another one I abandoned after it was over to pursue the above mentioned German experience.
I have travelled. Oh yes, I have. Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Netherlands, all of these places are off my checklist and almost all of them I would love to visit again.
And last, but not least on “basic things every 17-year-old boy who has not seen the world wishes for”, I had my first relationship.
Those are all very fundamental, important things that will help me further in the future, no doubt. But there is so much more I have to mention…
The Struggles and People Are Always Going to Be There
I made the most meaningful connections and friendships one can dream about! There are people I genuinely care about, people I love, admire, and adore with all my heart. People who inspire me to do better and to be better.
Even though my exchange in Germany lasted for 10 months, I feel like I have been an exchange student myself for 2 years before it. Erasmus community has brought probably the best year so far into my life, and I will never forget it. The parties we had, the places we visited together, the friendships we forged. We said goodbyes, but in my heart, it was the see-yous.
And I’ve been making the same connections ever since. Hopefully, this lifestyle will never change. Working at the restaurant, at the bar, being a part of an Entrepreneurship Society and alumni network all brought so much to my life.
And there have been struggles and problems, and whatever the hell dramas I didn’t ask to be involved in.
And Yet, I am Grateful
It’s fine. We are humans. Nobody is perfect. Not everyone will be your friend. And that is fine too. If anything, all the heartbreaks, negativity, failed conversations at the bar, or angry messages at night have taught me something. It is all an experience I will absorb and learn from.
There have been so many road bumps along the way. And not just from the last year. From the moment I set foot in this new country, I would decide to settle in. Even setting up my own bank account was a challenge I couldn’t solve without extra help.
And you know what? I’d do it all over again. No matter how stressed I was. No matter how angry or frustrated I was. No matter how much I wanted to give up, do nothing, or walk away. Without it, I wouldn't be where I am right now, who I am today.
Without these painful moments, I wouldn’t discover the issues of sustainability, the way our planet is suffering and how little we are doing it to help it. I wouldn't realize that digital marketing is the field I want to pursue. I wouldn’t realize so many things.
It Is Not the End
I am happy. Regardless of everything, I am happy. And I would like to continue my journey with the same level of diversity and vibrant experiences.
I hope this blog post has been entertaining to read through. It is my first ever blog, and I have yet much to learn. Thank you for sticking to the end.
