What a wonderful question, if perhaps a tad bold for a first date. But then, fortune favors the bold...if by "fortune" we mean "unexpectedly verbose responses" and by "favors" we mean "overwhelm." Where do I want to be ten years from now? Perhaps the truer question is who I want to be ten years from now, a question largely shaped by the people with whom I will choose to be.
A wise man once (in fact, frequently) said: "What matters most in life is the relationships you maintain and the lives you touch." (Kelly Jensen, Unsolicited [but Always Appreciated] Fatherly Advice, 1986-present.) I know many people who feel as though that all-too-crucial "decade of decision" (those years in their 20s of university education, career choice, and maybe a crazy European adventure or two) has passed them by. But academic acolades fade, professional success proves capricious, and Europe is...admittedly still pretty cool, but that's not the point. The point is that relationships will always be with us, in every stage of life. How we choose to nurture, cherish, and enjoy them is among the most important indicators of a life well-lived.
So where do I want to be ten years from now?* Wedged tightly between family one one side, friends on the other, living in the present while using technology in moderation to maintain, not replace, the relationships that uplift and refine my own character as I seek to serve those I love during the next "decade of decision."
*...And maybe on a Carribean island, too.
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