Figuring Out What’s Next (Without a 5-Year Plan)
Lately, I’ve caught myself spiraling. Not in a dramatic way—more in the quiet, 1 a.m. “should I move?” or “do I need a five-year plan?” kind of way. I’ll follow one thought into another until suddenly I’m on Zillow looking at homes I’ll never buy or watching YouTube videos about off-grid living in Finland. So I’m asking myself: Do I need to adjust my big-picture plan—or just admit I don’t really have one right now? The Pandemic Was All About Milestones Back then, I was in a relationship. And like many others during that time, I was thinking about the big stuff: buying a house, building a life with someone, maybe even marriage. I found comfort in having a shared plan—something to orient myself toward when everything else felt uncertain. That plan made sense for who I was then. But that version of me doesn’t exist anymore. Relationships End. I Didn’t. The breakup didn’t destroy me—it uncovered me. For the first time since I was 15, I wasn’t someone’s boyfriend. That’s a long time of defi...
