Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

And so it begins.

That's question number one on this essay I have in front of me. I'm kind of torn between the answer I want to give and the one I should. It's kind of funny, if you think about it... five years ago, I wouldn't really say that I'd be where I am right now in my life. Five years ago, my hopes and dreams don't really match to what I'm living at the moment. Not that I'm in a bad place, in any way. I just expected more. Granted, I was aiming high...

So, what the hell can I expect five years from now? I know where I want to be professionally, but I'll leave that for the essay. Personally, I honestly can't predict anything. Things have changed gradually over the years, my life has changed. People came into it, people left. I've laughed, I've cried, I've loved, I've hated. I've learned to expect my life to change at any moment, for any given reason, because that's how it works. One day you think you have your life figured out... and on the next one, you wake up to find that everything is wrong and it all got taken away. As the years go by, you deal with it. You eventually deal with so many things over time, that you end up carrying a lot of baggage. At times it will seem like a good thing and every so often, it won't... it will simply feel like an unbearable burden. All things considered, it's the people we love and our very own ambition to make something out of life that might, just like that, make us feel like our baggage isn't quite as heavy anymore. Like everything else, it's easier when someone gives you a hand with it.

My honest answer to the question at hand? I don't really know where or how I'll be, but I'd really like to be happy.