When people talk about the future, they make predictions as to where they're going to be; where they see themselves down the line from the present. But where my future in five years is hazy at best, my future ten years down the line is even more of a shot in the dark. Had I been asked ten years ago in my high school years, my answer is that I would have pursued a career in either computer programming, or video game design -- the latter of which I try to view as more of a hobby than an actual career path. Even so, it's not completely out of the realm of possibility, as I have tried my hand at making games before; mostly personal ones from game maker engines like the RPG Maker series. And, the games I made in that engine were fairly short - mainly because I lacked the patience to make a full-length game at the time - and it was mostly just to entertain myself with one-off stories that interest me, and nobody else.
On that note, while I do have an entire library of interests outside of computer programming, it's only the Cyber Security detail that I can actually see myself getting a legitimate job in; unless, by some miracle, I somehow manage to find employment that makes use of one of my other interests. Regardless, there's really not much I can say about what my future will look like in ten years without it being some wishful prediction.
What makes predicting my life later down the line so frustrating is the fact that I've been let down by reality so many times, just like many of my other peers after graduating from college, the first time around. I try not to bother even thinking about my life beyond even the next year or so, because I've been stuck in what feels like the exact same place and situation since I was a child. Still, while my faith in my future is practically nothing more than a small ember at this point, the dreams I had about it are still real: the desire to have purpose; to have a job in something I know that I'm good at; and even having a family of my own. Fleeting as it feels in the moment, it's still something that I can work towards -- as difficult and taxing as it can become, at certain points.
To put all of this in short order of possibilities, I could:
- Continue
- Staying on the path I've been following since McNeese, pursuing Computer Security
- Change down the line
- By some unforeseen incident, my career path changes, and I may find a job in one of my other interests
- Stagnate
- Worst case scenario, my internship will go nowhere, and I'll end up at exactly the same spot I've been stuck in for years
