Do you know where you’d like to
see yourself in a year, five years, and ten years from now? I do. I believe God
has a way of shaking up plans each of us has in mind for ourselves, but I don’t
think it hurts to envision and work towards different goals and experiences as your life progresses. One day I wrote out different lists of things I’d
like to do and experience over the course of a year, five years, and ten years.
I prefer to keep my lists private for now, but I encourage you to make lists of
your own. It’s simple. Make three different lists -- the first starting with
one year, the second starting with what you’d like to accomplish in five years,
and the third will focus on where you’d like to see yourself in ten years. It’s
cool getting an idea of how you’d like your life to change and I hope your
lists reveal surprising things to you.
As you embark on your career, I want you to know some things and stay woke about what you’ll be up against. Please understand that no matter what, you have value, and you matter. Always remember that. As progressive as this world and different workplaces may seem, every workplace has a culture. You’ll be in different places where a lot of people who don’t look like you will be in the room. But know that you belong in those rooms too. Spend some time observing and studying those spaces and learn as much as you can. There will be people you work with who will make presumptions about your competence, education, and ability to fulfill your job duties. There will be more who will think less of you because of the color of your skin and try to disqualify you the moment you make an error, mistake, or ask questions about things you may not understand. This will all feel uncomfortable and you may get insecure, feel like you’re all by yourself, and think you don’t belong there, but ride it out...