One of our professors from the Department of Design asked us one simple question - "What do you want to do in the next 5 years?" To make it more intriguing he added - "I give you a magic wand and so that you can be whoever and whatever you want to be."
A few of us told our views about what we would like to achieve in the future. Someone wanted to do something for his village, someone wanted to do something for children, etc.
There are times in one's life when one is hit by epiphanies (the plural of epiphany). That moment, during the design class, was one in my life. Even if I didn't have a wand, I was not sure what I wanted from my life. Do I get a job? What kind of job? Start something on my own? Or a MS/PhD?
The magic wand was supposed to make answering the question more easy. But I realized if I did have a magic wand I wouldn't want any of those. A job, a company, a PhD - all seem so insignificant. These are all the things that I can achieve without a wand (probably). Am I not then limiting my goals to what I can achieve instead of what I truly want. Reminds me of Kalam's quote "Having a small aim is crime."
So, what do I want in the next 5 years? It took me sometime to figure it out. I want to experience something new everyday. I want to see the auroras in the Artic, climb Everest, wade across the Amazon, listen to the Niagra, taste all cuisines of potato, drive a ferrari and meet new people. I wish I had a magic wand.
