departuresong
Bouncing Off Clouds
What are some goals you have for the future?
If anybody would be willing to comment on mine (from my blog), please please please do.
If anybody would be willing to comment on mine (from my blog), please please please do.
I’ve heard multiple times from multiple people that nobody achieves goals unless they write them down. So I’m writing mine down.
* Get out of Minnesota and find somewhere bigger and better.
I love Minnesota and that will never change. I am so fortunate to live in a safe and comfortable neighborhood with nice (if not slightly passive-aggressive) people. Living next to one of the cultural highlights of the Midwest (the Minneapolis/St. Paul area) is amazing and has given me so much inspiration, opportunity, and appreciation for the world around me. I still think St. Paul is one of the best cities in the entire world and Minneapolis isn’t far behind.That said, I don’t see my ideal future here. Minnesota isn’t the most exciting place in the world. (And snow really sucks.) I want to live life in a big city, surrounded by interesting people and a variety of cultures. I want to look out my window and see the world. I want to experience the kind of excess and insanity that a humble Midwest suburb just can’t deliver. And I know exactly where I want to live: San Francisco, land of pretty architecture, free thinkers, and alternative cultures.
The idea of just abandoning Minnesota for northern California excites me and manages to scare the hell out of me at the same time. I want nothing more than to make it work. And the more I research, the less likely that seems; San Francisco is disturbingly expensive, is filled with obligatory unsafe neighborhoods, and is very likely to be underwater in ten years’ time. (That last part was a joke, but you know.)
The only thing stopping me from letting my pessimism get to me is my friend Linda, a friend I’ve only met once briefly in my life and my future partner-in-crime. Our plans to move to San Francisco after graduating were spontaneous. I don’t really know how I got involved (she had been dreaming of this longer than I did) but I’m very glad I did. The thing that scares me the most, I guess, is that all of won’t work out. I really don’t want that. I am in love with the goals we’ve set for ourselves and I want more than anything else for it to work out.
Any advice on what I can do to prepare for this would be so appreciated. Seriously, anyone who knows the big city like the back of their hand would be doing me a huge favor to let me know what I need to prepare for. I don’t want to go into this blindly. I’ve spent long enough on this point, so I’ll move on to some smaller goals.
* Get and maintain a decent GPA to negate two years’ worth of crap.
Freshman and sophomore years of high school were really, really rough. I was dealing with a lot of personal garbage that got in the way of my schoolwork, leaving me with a dreadful GPA that I would be ashamed to actually share publicly. Fortunately, I still have two years to prove myself, and my second trimester of my junior year is beginning very well. I just hope I can keep the momentum, because I know I am capable of straight As if I really put effort into it. Let’s hope.
* Get into college. To study what? I have no idea.
There is a very delicate line between jobs I would enjoy and jobs that are practical. Unfortunately, nothing I have any vague interest in studying falls into both categories. I want to do something artistic, definitely; I’ve considered pursuing writing, fashion marketing, or furthering my German knowledge. Remember when I said San Francisco is ridiculously expensive? A crappy job is not going to help the situation any. But I want to do something I love. Is it even possible to be successful in today’s world?
Any comments are more than appreciated here.