What to Do When Your 5 Year Plan Isn't Going to Plan...

Everyone has a 5 year plan, don't they? 5 year, 10 year, however long term or short term you set your goals, we all have an idea of what we want, or think we want our lives to be like in the near future. I remember being at a sleepover with two of my best friends in high school (I must have been 13 or 14), saying how much I can't wait to have a baby and drive a limousine (absolute LOL) when I was 26. Before we get to the serious stuff please can we just discuss how hilarious it is that I genuinely thought my first car would be a limousine!!?!? I was obsessed with wanting a limousine. Thank God that died a death when Vauxhall Corsa's were 'the' car to have when we all got to the age of us actually passing our tests and getting our first car. And for the record, I got a baby blue Peugeot 206, NOT a limo. Secondly, a baby when I'm 26!? I'm 25 now, and I don't even have a boyfriend, so I think that one's gonna have to take a back seat as well.

Class of 2014!

On a serious note though, it's so easy to feel deflated, or like a failure when you compare yourself to how you thought your life would be at that specific moment in time. I thought when I was 25 that I would be on the career ladder doing something that I loved, living with my boyfriend and our baby black pug called Bean, have a hefty savings account and be well on my way to  putting a deposit down on my first property. When in fact my current situation involves being single, living in a house share with people who I have absolutely zero in common with (minus my girl Beth), being unhappy at work, spending all my wages on my nights out, clothes and make-up and zero savings. Oh, and no dog. Which I'm not too upset about, because I can barely look after myself.

When someone asks me where all my money went.

Ok, so now that I've just written that out in black and white it sounds SO DEPRESSING. And no, I'm not trying to convince you to get the tiny violins out, because on the other hand I have a buzzing social life, an amazing circle of friends who I have been best friends with for the last 9 years and counting, an extremely loving family who I'm fortunate enough to support me financially (I say 'support me financially' lightly, when realistically my Mum and Dad help me out with EVERYTHING and they are my absolute rock) and I'm working hard to get to where I want to be career wise. When it comes to buying a place, so many of the girls in my friendship group now have either bought a house with their boyfriend, or are in the process of doing so. I'm still a free bird, I don't know where I want to settle or which city I can see myself living in the future. It's definitely not here, so owning a place is the last thing on my mind!

Even social media can have such a huuuuuuuuge effect on us. Well, especially me. I am not ashamed to say that I am on my phone 24/7. It's so easy to have a 'quick' scroll on Instagram before bed, and 3 hours later you end up on your best friends-sisters-friend from uni's-cousins-collegues-daughter and see that she drives a Range Rover, goes to Dubai 3 times a year, has 9 pairs of Louboutin's and an indoor pool and instantly feel crap about your own life. We ALL do it. But you just need to remember that you don't know anything about their life. It's Instagram, you choose what you want people to see, kind of like an online persona.  They could have worked their arses off all their lives or they could have been bought it by their parents. You. Don't. Know. So don't let it bother you. And definitely don't compare yourself.

When it comes to setting another 5 year plan, that takes me up to 30. THIRTY years old. Oh my days. I was going to say that I won't be setting one, I'm just going to continue working as hard as I am and let fate decide which city/career/relationship I end up settling in, but if I'm still living in a house share in Wakefield, harassing my teacher friends for their student discount codes and blending all my meals because I cba to cook, I will 100% be having serious words/go to rehab/sign up to a sugar daddy website/donate an organ to get on the career ladder/get a sperm donor. Some of the above are lies, some aren't- I'll let you decide on that.

But on a more serious note, when it comes to setting goals and plans, don't compare yourself to others, concentrate on YOU, work hard and everything will start falling into place.