Where Will You Be in 10 Years?

“Where will you be in 10 years?”

This common, fair, and seemingly innocuous question has been asked at job interviews, on first dates, and in BuzzFeed quizzes for years now. But do we really take the time and think about where we will be come 2029, or, for that matter, where we were in 2009?

I do.

As I reach the dawn of my 30s, I wanted to jump in my time machine to 2009. I was entering my junior year at Springfield College. Sports journalism was my chosen career path, and I was prepared to have a prominent role with my college’s student newspaper as the second half of my four-year stint in Western Massachusetts began.

Journalism was it. I was going to be the next Red Smith or Grantland Rice or Mike Lupica.

(Okay, that might be taking it a little far, but, as I tell my students, follow your dreams.)

As far as I can remember, no one actually ever asked me the question back then, but if they had, what would I say? I might have thought about being a sports writer or beat reporter in a mid-level U.S. market. Perhaps I could have been an editor or a sports talk radio host (let’s face it, I do have the face for radio). Any of those would have been perfectly fine. The possibilities, or so I thought, were endless.

Here comes the good part. 2019 Mike goes back in time and has a conversation with 2009 Mike. After exchanging initial pleasantries, 2019 Mike informs his younger self that he will be an English teacher in the Czech Republic once he turns 30.

2009 Mike stares into space in shock, trying to process the enormity of what he just heard. Thirty years old? Teaching? The Czech Republic? Donald Trump as President of the United States?

What in the world?

I mean, 2009 was pretty scary in its own right. There was swine flu (which, full disclosure, I came down with). Michael Jackson, Walter Cronkite, and Ted Kennedy died. The absolutely awful David Paterson was the Governor of New York.

But still, back then, the remote thought of me teaching English and being 5,000 miles away?

Preposterous.

Again, I really don’t know what my definite answer for the 10 years question would have been back in 2009, but I know that would have been the absolute furthest thing from it. Heck, you could have told me that I would be the starting first baseman for the Boston Red Sox, and I might have even found that to be more believable.

I bring up this question now because in two days, I will end my third decade on this planet and start my fourth. The changes I have gone through since I began decade number three are almost immeasurable.

You see, ten years ago, I was a naïve, unassuming young man with scruffy facial hair under my chin. I had never traveled abroad and had only been to a handful of states. I didn’t drive. When it came to education, being the student was the only thing I had ever known. I had not had many life experiences and had not yet come out of my shell. The thought of living independently, without family nearby, was terrifying and unrealistic.

I was a good person and a good student. I had some friends, but I just wanted to go with the flow, stay out of trouble, and not ruffle any feathers. The comfort zone I had built was very appealing, and I was unwilling to step outside of it.

That comfort zone continued to be very attractive for the majority of my 20s, even as I bounced around from journalism to sales to the U.S. Postal Service to teaching and considered a plethora of other options along the way. In fact, I don’t think I completely jumped out of it until I boarded that plane at Newark Airport.

As I reflect here on the many changes that I have gone through since I waved goodbye to my teenage years, the ability to finally step away from my comfort zone and have an experience like the one I have had here is the change I am proudest of. I believe that I did not just come out of my shell, but that I ran out of it with a full head of steam.

This journey has required a great deal of courage on my part. Coming to this decision was the product of a number of sleepless nights and soul searching the likes of which I had never done before.

I could have turned back. I could have just said that this was too hard and walked away.

2009 Mike may have been inclined to do that. His current counterpart, however, was not.

I had to do this for me. I wanted to show the world that I can be a world changer. I wanted to show myself that this dream, a dream that I didn’t even have 10 years ago, could be a reality. Yes, a boy from upstate New York can live in a major European capital and thrive.

So I followed through. I am happy teaching TEFL. I have purpose. I have a place in the world. My work is making a difference and a positive impact on the lives of people. It’s fun. It’s exciting. If I had told 2009 Mike that piece of it, he would have been pretty happy.

Ask the question again. I dare you.

Where will you be in 10 years?

I don’t know for sure. Teaching will almost certainly be a part of it. The rest of the chips will fall where they may.

God willing, we will revisit this question in 10 years. 2029 Mike will jump in the time machine and have a chat with my current self. If it can even be half the conversation that 2019 Mike and 2009 Mike just had, it will be a good one.