Talkin' about five-year plans or the lack thereof. And mini twenty-something crises as usual. Five years ago I was at University, hating a vast majority of the situation. When I’m not in hippy happy Mish mode, I’m an incessant worrier. My flatmates were chatting about ‘life after Uni’ a.k.a. the ultimate taboo, and jostling me about how I’d probably never get a job in the fashion industry, how I was wasting my time. And while I never spoke out against them, it stuck with me and I constantly fretted about what I was supposed to after University. It was terrifying.
I’ve never had a steadfast five-year plan. Y’know when we were all encouraged to write somethin’ down for career guidance tutors back in school and we all – own up, peeps – scribbled down random nonsense knowing that no-one would follow up. (And they didn’t, right?) I literally wrote down something about maybe studying English literature because I loved books. Deep down, I was about to contest with two Chinese parents to convince them that fashion journalism was more of a viable path than Law, Medicine or Accountancy. We’re stereotypes and I like it, ok?
I finally wrote my five-year plan in September 2014 after coming back from a holiday abroad. What was on it?
In five years time, I will have…I wrote that in five minutes.
- Moved up at least one step in my career.
- Tried living in another country.
- Bought my first Chanel handbag.
- Started my second business.
- Own my own place.
After worrying incessantly about 'having a plan', trust me, when you know what you want, you know what you want.
In less than a month after that, I’d scribbled lines through two of those and now I’ve ticked off four of the five. It’s funny how the world works. One minute you’re pretending that you’re fine with the sedentary lifestyle you’ve ended up in, the next? You’re reaching out and achieving your mini goals without even noticing.
I guess I wanted to write this to remind you and myself that it doesn’t matter if everyone around you has a mastermind plan or opposing opinions to you. Life has an odd but beautiful way of throwing curveballs in disguise that’ll set you on the right path. My gut feeling of moving to Hong Kong being a terrifying but probably-maybe-potentially positive-in-disguise thing paid off. Every day I see the tiny beauty in the mundane and I learn new lessons about myself.
Where do you see yourself in five years? It’s okay to say nothing. (But I really hope it involves a cute pooch.)
