LET ME TELL YOU WHERE I’D LIKE TO GET TO

WHY AM I WRITING THIS ARTICLE?

The future is one of the few things that lies right in front of us, yet we cannot truly see it.

I decided to write this article because, now more than ever, I feel ready to imagine what my life might look like in the future.

When you’re little, you don’t really think about it. When someone first asks you what you want to be when you grow up, you’ll probably say an astronaut. Then you get to middle school and start changing your mind. You go from wanting to be an astronaut to considering aerospace engineering. Then, during your first two years of high school, you picture yourself working in an office.

But then something changes, at least it did for me. Moving into my third year opened up a whole new world. It’s as if I suddenly realised that the elimination round was finally over, and that those ten years of school had been more like a ranking system designed to let you experiment and figure out what you really want to do with your future.

In my third year of high school, I finally understood that the choice I had made back in middle school was, so far, the best decision I had ever made in my life.

Now I’m studying something I genuinely enjoy, and I finally understand people who say that when you do something you love, it never really feels like a burden. Of course, it can be tiring, but mostly because of the timetable. Let’s be honest: who gets bored doing something they actually enjoy?

In the end, it was my choice. I was the one who decided to take this course; nobody forced me into it. And I find that quite funny because, at the same time, I was about to make a mistake that could have cost me my future. I nearly went to a traditional academic high school just to follow my friends, even though I haven’t really kept in touch with most of them for almost four years now. Eventually, I realised I had to follow my own path.

WHERE DO I SEE MYSELF IN A FEW YEARS?

“More than knowing where I want to be, I’m beginning to understand how I want to feel when I get there.”

Here we are. This is the question. I don’t have a precise map of my future, but I do know what I want to do.

Languages are my passion. I love them. If I had to choose a university degree, I’d study languages, but not necessarily to become a translator or an interpreter. I’d rather combine languages with economics, so perhaps something that brings the two together.

I’ve travelled a lot over the past few years, really a lot, and I’ve seen plenty of cities abroad. Honestly, and I almost feel bad saying it, for now I can only picture myself living outside Italy. I don’t really like the atmosphere here. People seem obsessed with work as a way to make money rather than as something they’re passionate about. Luckily, I’m not talking about everyone.

It’s not that things are necessarily better abroad. In some countries, they’re actually much, much worse. Still, it’s as if there’s something pulling me away from this peninsula, almost like a magnet drawing me elsewhere.

This summer, among other things, I was lucky enough to pass through Monaco. You can feel the money there; it’s almost tangible. But it wasn’t because of the countless Lamborghinis parked outside luxury hotels, or the hotel employees polishing the outdoor tiles by hand.

I arrived early in the morning, at around seven, before the working day had really begun, and I got the impression that the city was built around order, discipline, consistency and prosperity.

Leaving tourists aside, I think that out of every hundred people I saw, ninety-five were wearing suits or, at the very least, dressed extremely well.

I’m not saying that’s what I’m aiming for in particular. But that is the kind of setting and atmosphere I dream of for my future: waking up in the morning without feeling weighed down by everything, knowing I’m going to work without feeling as though life itself is a burden.

Of course, maybe I’ll find my dream job here in Italy, one that allows me to travel. That would be amazing, and I’d certainly have nothing to complain about. But honestly, I still don’t know exactly what the future holds.

What I do know is that I need to start thinking seriously about what comes after high school: university. It will be a very important stepping stone, a major decision that could take me a long way. At least, that’s what I hope.

STUDYING, LEARNING AND CHOOSING A PATH

I don’t think I have one clearly defined path ahead of me just yet. There are several possibilities that intrigue me.

I’ve already talked about school, so I won’t keep repeating myself. I’ll just add that I’m already more than halfway through this journey and getting close to the finish line. There are only a few years left. In five to seven years, I could already be out there in the world, starting my career.

I intend to earn several language certificates, building on the ones I’ve already obtained, even though those were only basic qualifications from middle school. I’m planning to work towards B1/B2 German and B2 Spanish certifications, which would represent significant progress.

Could these qualifications take me far? I hope so.

However, the further I go, the more I realise that technology is rapidly changing the world around us. I could learn every language in the world, but how much easier would it be for a company to write a message using ChatGPT rather than pay someone to travel abroad and do the job in person?

This is the path I chose in my first year of high school, and I’m convinced of it. Absolutely convinced. Yet I can’t ignore the possibility that technology will eventually take over many of the things I’m preparing to do.

Maybe that will never happen, and I sincerely hope it won’t. But who can guarantee that it won’t?

THE JOB I’D LOVE TO HAVE

Honestly, I won’t deny that I’d love to follow in my dad’s footsteps and travel abroad for work. How cool would that be?

Maybe it’s actually exhausting, who knows? I’ve never experienced it myself. But from the outside, it looks genuinely fascinating.

Perhaps I inherited my passion for languages and economics from him. I don’t know. But if there’s one job I’d want more than any other, it would be something like that.

Banks, international travel, meeting new people and discovering different traditions. How exciting! And maybe, one day, I’ll get there too.

MY SLIGHTLY CRAZY DREAMS

I won’t deny that I’m fascinated by the idea of buying a home abroad and becoming part of a community that isn’t my own, a community that, until now, hasn’t really given me much of a sense of belonging.

I often think about how much I want to move abroad and make something of myself, to go out there and achieve great things. Then I remind myself that, before anything else, I actually have to get there.

I know some people might think that’s crazy. But why shouldn’t we make room for our dreams, too?

And it’s not just about work or finding a job that lets me travel. I’d also love to visit faraway places, America, for example.

A LETTER TO MY FUTURE SELF

I’ll finish with a little message to my future self. I genuinely hope I make it and that at least some of the things I’ve written about come true.

I hope that one day, when I’m old, I’ll be able to look back and ask myself: Did I make it?

That’s it. I hope I haven’t bored you too much.

Now it’s time to start writing my future.