Close your eyes, think about where you see yourself ten years from now? Twenty years from now? What do you see? Where do you see yourself or who do you see yourself with? Does the world seem as scary in ten years compared to now? Does is seem worth the struggles you are going through? Does is seem worth the wait, the time, worth going the extra mile now to know you’ll get there?

For instance, in ten years I see myself married, to whom? I don’t know anymore, probably someone I have not met yet. I also hope to be a parent in ten years probably to one child. I hope that by that point I’ll have traveled the world, seen amazing places. I mean places that people don’t always think to travel to but also places like Paris and Italy. I also hope to be an established musician. Maybe I won’t be at my peak but I sure hope to be doing well, being able to support a family with my passion of playing. I hope to be in the city, or lived there at some point up to now because it is a beautiful city. I also want happiness, I want a life filled with love. In ten years I hope to be comfortable where I am, enough that if my life was paused there forever, I would be ecstatic with it.

In twenty years, I hope to have another child. At this point no longer be in the city, instead have a house with a nice yard. I wish for my marriage to still be a happy one full of love just like the day we first fell for each other. I want to own a beach house as well, the same one that we go to for the summers, where the kids make great memories and where my husband and I get to escape life for a bit. In twenty years, I want to feel strength, power and wholesome. I plan to have established my career completely, maybe I’ll be getting calls to play around the world, or maybe I’ll still be in the same position but either way playing for money would be me living my dream. I hope to have things figured out, for the most part and continue to be happy.

Think about it, ten and twenty years from now, where are you? Are you married/single, do you have kids? Are you traveling the world doing the thing you love? Do you own a house, what job do you have, are you rich or poor?

Ten years from now, is it worth it to go to class? Is it worth the stress of finals and spending extra time studying? Is it worth doing that internship? Is it worth sparing some time to help out your siblings with school work or your parents fix up the house? Is it worth partying every night? Is it worth blowing your money rather than saving? It is worth dwelling on losing friends or a boyfriend/girlfriend? Is it worth stressing on things that you didn’t include in those images you have for ten and twenty years from now?

Sometimes things seem impossible, they seem to be the worst things to ever happen. We think that we don’t need to save and we cry over a break up for a month, we dwell on the past and on the “what if’s” of now that we can’t control. Is that worth the time? Really? We all need to push through for that future we want to build. Go to class, get good grades to make the money to travel, to give your kids a better life than you. Stop being so upset and dragging yourself down that way you open up happiness for your future. Don’t party like crazy and risk health issues that will prevent you for making it ten or twenty years from now.

Think about a year from now. Where do you see yourself? Are you doing the same thing, in the same place with the same people? That’s your answer. Life is not worth holding onto the past, it’s not worth giving up at young age, let alone ever. We have futures to build for, futures to grow for. We have so much work to do so one day we can still down and think of what a fulfilled life we have lived. Now and again just think, ten years, twenty years into the future. When things get tough, think about where you see yourself then, things right now wont seems so bad anymore, things will just continue to get better. Your future is worth the struggles now, no matter how big or how little, just keep pushing through.