GMSTB30
I'm going to steal Kristy's meme and write about it here too: GMSTB30. That stands for "Getting My Sh!t Together Before I'm 30." (It also looks strangely similar to the abbreviation for Mystery Science Theater 3000, MST3K.)
Setting the bar fairly low, I'd point out that Kristy herself has already achieved some of my GMSTB30 goals, so our impetuses (impeti?) for this are likely different. For one, I certainly never planned nor expected to still be living with my parents at age 27, going on 28. For another, I certainly never planned nor expected to still be looking for some semblance of financial (i.e., job) security at age 27, going on 28.
And perhaps as a consequence of those two facts, it didn't quite sink in that I was a mere two years away from 30 until Kristy wrote about GMSTB30. It seems like just yesterday I was passing the quarter-century mark and saying how I still felt young because most of my friends were older. Well now I'm as old as some of those friends were when I met them, and yet many things in my life have changed very little in that time.
The cancer treatments of '04 and '05 can really only take the blame for about a year of that; to ascribe more would be scapegoating and kidding myself. I have felt perfectly fine and healthy since then. I know full well what aspects of my personality have kept certain aspects of my life stationary, and I need to fight them. In other words, I need to get my sh!t together before I'm 30.
So what are my SMART goals? By May 19, 2010, I will have (in no particular order):
- achieved financial independence, in the sense that my regular income will provide for, at the least, a modestly comfortable lower middle class lifestyle, without having to rely on the generosity of my parents' free room and board
- moved out of my parents' house without having to settle for living with a roommate (unless I have a roommate by choice rather than out of necessity)
- begun working on my comic strip every day, even if it's just sketching a scene or scribbling down an idea on a napkin during my lunch break
- a dedicated drawing space, such as a glass top desk, for said comic strip to be drawn
- submitted at least one musical composition for publication
- stopped chewing my fingers (no, really; you'd be surprised how much time this wastes, not to mention the obvious hygienic aspect)
- set SMART goals for age 30-35
Incidentally, I just found out tonight that my brother (35) is now expecting his first child. Actually, my sister-in-law is, though I imagine my brother had something to do with the mechanics of it. That may or may not have something to do with my urge to type this post tonight rather than working on goal #1 up there.
5 Comments:
I realize how close to 30 I am when I talk about when I'll graduate with my masters - 31. Have fun GYSTB30!
Congrats on your impending uncle-dom! Siblings with kids really puts a spotlight on your own age, and that we aren't the kids anymore. I'd imagine having your own does that too, and probably to a greater extent, but I don't have that kind of experience, so I'll stick to what I know! ;^)
It just occurred to me that I should probably set some checkpoints along the way. Otherwise, I'll be saying "I won't be 30 for another two years" and end up buying a drawing desk on May 18, 2010. :)
When I had anxiety problems during sophomore year of college, one piece of the puzzle was that I was concerned about what job I would have after graduation. One way of dealing with the anxiety was to say, "Don't worry about it. You still have two years of college to go yet!"
Well, as the last six years have indicated, apparently I was right to worry. Perhaps I should have worried more! If I leave graphic design at this point, it's like starting over, as if the last six years didn't matter.
(Now, from a life standpoint, that's not true, because I don't regret the ways I've grown in that time. But from a career standpoint, perhaps an early Quarter-Life Crisis would have been helpful to kick me into gear during college. Instead, I just sort of ignored it and focused on my classes.)
I sort-of disagree about the idea of worrying too much about your career in college. Yes, you should consider your employment options, and start to piece together what sort of job you want when you graduate. But the thing is, in my perspective, college for the traditional age-group crowd is for exploring your options academically, emotionally, and realistically. It's the only time in your life when the number of options available to you is nearly limitless. I think that should be taken advantage of. It is also likely to be the only time in your life when you DON'T have to spend every day of your adult life worrying about work. I really like the quote from "Everybody's Free (to Wear Sunscreen)". I don't remember the exact words, but it's something to the effect of "Don't worry if you don't know what you want to do with your life. Some of the most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives; some of them at 40 still don't!"
And it's ok if what you end up doing for work doesn't have anything to do with your college degree. From the big picture perspective, consider what you got out of college. How much you were afforded the opportunity to learn about a subject you love and enjoy, learn about yourself, make life-long friendships. College is about more than your future career, it's just plain about your future.
Your idea about setting checkpoints is fine, just make sure that you make them realistic for what you want to accomplish and what you want out of your goal. If the checkpoints and goals themselves are unrealistic, it'll just create more anxiety and you won't accomplish what you set out to do.
Good luck with your Quarter-Life Crisis!
Well, I'm not so much worried (now) about what I did in college, so much as the past six years after graduation. If I end up earning a sustainable wage in another field, that's fine, but then I'll wish I had just done that right out of the gate instead of screwing around with graphic design first. I'd really prefer not to have to still be working at age 75. :)
And of course, I say things like "I don't regret that time, because those experiences made me who I am today," but who knows; had things gone differently, maybe I would have been an even better person today! Hindsight is 20/20 and all that, but by the same token, those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. (How many idioms could I fit into that sentence?)
I made sure that all the goals I listed up there were truly attainable within two years. The next step is to figure out the best way to attain them, and implement that plan.
BTW, thanks for your helpful feedback. :)
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