At my age, ten years still feels like a long time, but not an unthinkable amount of time.
It’s the sort of span that used to sound like science fiction, but now just sounds like a career plan. So here’s my dreams for what life in 10 years might look like.
First off, I’d like to be 29. That might sound like a given, since I’m 19 now, but never underestimate my ability to mess up something simple.
I’d like to have graduated college by then. If I’m still in school in 2035, I really hope it’s not being funded by student loans. With that many years in debt, my grandchildren would be the ones paying off the interest.
Ideally, I’ll be employed, at a job that pays decently, maybe even well. If the newspaper industry still exists, I’d be happy to take job offers. That’s for you, future employers. And I’d like to think I’m in a career that hasn’t yet been taken over by AI. But if it has… well, I hope the robots are at least nice about it.
In ten years, I’d like to be happily married to a woman. I think the word “happily” is doing some important work there. As Proverbs says, it’s better to live on the corner of a rooftop than share a house with a quarrelsome spouse.
Also: I’d like to be alive. That’s a big one. Preferably radiation-free. In a world of WMDs and rising global tension, you never quite know. All it takes is one dictator waking up on the wrong side of the bed and boom. No more Bradley. So yes, being alive and nonradioactive would be a win.
In ten years, I’d like to have kids. And while I’m aware that many people would pay to prevent the creation of mini-Bradleys, I like the idea of raising a little army of goofy, egotistical gremlins.
I’d like to still carry my tiny pocket cheese grater. Yeah it’s mostly useless, but it sparks joy. And I hope animals still exist by 2035, because I’d like to have a few of those, too.
Ten years ago, I was in fifth grade. Vine still existed. TikTok was just the sound clocks made. In 2015, the median U.S. home price was $289,200. Today, it’s $416,900. A decade changes everything, technology, prices, the way we talk, the way we think. And yet, somehow, here we are.
So who knows what 2035 will look like? Maybe the sky will be green and money will be obsolete. But whatever it brings, I hope I’ll still be me.
Me, with a family, a purpose, and a pocket cheese grater.
That sounds like a pretty good future.