Five Year Plans
By Kate, age 20, New Hampshire
Sweet Designs Staff Intern
Sweet Designs Featured Writer
Five year plans - a necessity for life! Without a plan, you have no goals. Nothing to achieve, nowhere to go. So, do you have a five year plan?Maybe you're still in high school, and your five year plan consists of just getting through college, but if you're like me, you're on your last year or two of college, or maybe have already graduated! Now what? This is the perfect time to devise a five year plan! So, what should your five year plan be? Let me explain mine.
As a junior in college, I'm almost finished with my schooling, and then I'll be thrown out into the real world. It can be a scary thing when you don't know what to do, and even now, I still don't know exactly what I want to do with my life. So, I came up with my five year plan - open enough to give me options, but also specific so I will be sure to achieve at whatever I do.
My five year plan begins with next year, when I hope to transfer for my final year of college to a different college with a more specific degree for what I hope to do with my life - screen writing. After graduating, I plan on moving to New York. Living in New Hampshire is very hard for someone who wants to get into the movie business. Living anywhere that's not New York, Boston, or Hollywood can be difficult. I figured, if I wanted to at least have a chance at writing a movie, I needed to be somewhere where I could experience the real movie business. I need to be able to intern at a studio or get a job as someone's assistant, and within a short distance for an easy commute. I certainly won't have a short commute from New Hampshire!
From there, I'm hoping that I will meet lots of people and make lots of connections, and, if things work out well, I will be able to produce my first movie. Of course, that might not happen in five years, but if I can meet the right people and get myself out there and in the business, it's a start. By the time five years are up, I should be far enough along and comfortable enough to continue in the field.
If things don't work the way I planned, at least I'm not stuck. Maybe I'll decide screen writing isn't what I want to do anymore; maybe I'll find something else that interests me. Whatever the reason, if I decide not to continue, I'm still in New York. There are so many opportunities in New York for almost anything. Just living there might show me something new, and I might decide to pursue that instead. So, living in New York could be beneficial for me if screen writing doesn't turn out the way I hope.
With a plan like this, I don't feel tied down to the path I choose. If things don't work out, I have other options, and I think that's what's most important in having a five year plan. So, maybe this will help you come up with your own five year plan. Remember to keep it open, but not too open where you feel lost and without a goal. Keep your dreams in mind, but keep an open mind as well. Be prepared for change, but strive for everything and anything!