Pretend it's the year 2017...

I've been with my current company for over six years now. When I was going through the interview process I was administered a "writing test" that asked the following question:

Pretend it's the year 2017 and you're looking back over the last 10 years. What has to have happened over those 10 years for you to feel you've been successful and have met your hopes, dreams, and aspirations?"

I wrote the following response on February 9, 2007:

Well, here I am. It's 2017 and I can say with confidence that I have successfully achieved the dreams and aspirations I set for myself 10 years ago. I have taken my knowledge and experience from working in "support roles" and now play a specialized part in a successful company. I am able to positively impact the lives of others, which is something I have aspired to do my whole life. I am proud of where I am professionally because I have put forth valiant effort and hard work to achieve a successful, and most importantly , a meaningful career. 

Personally, my hopes of starting a family of my own with my husband has been made into reality. We both have worked so hard from our late teens, our twenties and now mid-thirties to establish ourselves and prepare to be responsible parents.

For me, "what has to have happened to feel I've been successful," is to know that I have never given up as I continuously strive for the life I have always wanted. All the while I have grown with the support and love from my partnership with my husband and my family. Looking back over the last 10 years I can smile because look how far I've come...

And this is only the beginning!

Reading this makes me feel very proud. It hasn't even been a full ten years since writing it, yet I've basically accomplished everything I wanted to:

I now play a specialized part in a successful company - This is pretty self-explanatory.

I positively impact the lives of others - Since writing this I've developed amazing relationships with our clients so much that most of them feel like an extension of my own family. I've coached three all-star competitive cheerleading teams for girls ranging in ages of 11-16. One of the teams placed 1st at state and the other won 1st at Nationals! Coaching was a wonderful way for me to positively impact the lives of young girls and I believe most of them would say I did just that. I've also become a mother and I hope with all my might that I positively impact my sweet babies lives everyday.

My hopes of starting a family of my own with my husband has been made into a reality - again, self-explanatory.

I have grown with the support and love from my husband and my family - There is no "i" in team, people! I am thankful to share every accomplishment with my partner and I'm thankful that he is there for every hardship as well. Plus, my family is amazing and their support means the world to me. Very blessed indeed.

This is only the beginning! - I couldn't agree more, past Kendra! I am really looking forward to the future as I continue to grow professionally and personally.

I wanted to reflect back on this because tomorrow is my birthday and I like to think of each year as a fresh start. I enjoy looking back and seeing how far I've come and then looking into the future as a blank slate full of possibilities. I am feeling motivated and ready to take things to the next level but my next challenge is to determine what that "next level" is both personally and professionally. As long as I keep moving in the right direction, I think I'll be just fine!

If you look back over the past 5 or 10 years, are you happy with where you are? What about the next 5 or 10?