What it means to be part of Gen Y

If you had asked me 5 years ago where I would be in my life right now, I probably would have said that I would be working as an actor and doing some other work on the side. Wow, have times changed! The path that I have inadvertently taken in life is pretty amazing and I have to say that I'm very happy with the balance of things in my life.

From a young age, I started participating in many activities:

• I was always an over-achiever in school, always striving to get A's or above 90% in all of my classes. I graduated from OAC with nearly a 90% average
• I was a Brownie and a Girl Guide. I was never great at the cookie-selling, but I had a lot of badges
• I took tap and jazz lessons from age 7 to 9
• I was always in the school productions, choir and band
• In junior high I was a Prefect
• In high school I volunteered for a local youth crisis hot line and a youth choir
• I got my first part time job at 17 and was promoted to supervisor within 7 months
• I was yearbook editor for my final two years of high school

You get the picture.

This pattern has continued into my adult life - I constantly have a million things on the go. In talking to many of my friends, it seems that we are very similar in this way and I really thinks it speaks to our nature as Gen Y kids. We were children of the 90's and have adapted into a fast-paced, multi-tasking lifestyle that suits us just fine.

Where am I at in my life right now is a product of the journey that I have taken in life:

(See the over-achiever in me? I couldn't just explain it, I had to draw a flow chart)

I have to say that I'm generally happy with the balance of things in my life:

I have a good mix of work and play as well as many things that I am passionate about. There are times when I feel stressed because I feel like I'm doing too much (usually when I am rehearsing for or performing in a show) but most of the time I think I do my best work when I'm kept busy. For this exercise I didn't even add Joey, my friends or family into the mix but they are a HUGE part of my life as well!

I feel as a Gen Y kid I can lack focus. I always have so many projects on the go and at times I think I lack direction. The conversations with my friends this week have been as a result of feeling that even though I divert my energy in a number of directions, that I'm not going anywhere specific with them. This week I got my act together and started to figure out what I'm doing and where I see myself going, which is why you see that purple box in the bottom corner of my flow chart - apply to nutrition school.

Nutrition school has been on my brain for awhile and it's a direction I've started to go in fairly organically. It's no secret that my eating drastically changed as a result of doing Weight Watchers and then even more so after being diagnosed with Crohn's and since working for Weight Watchers I've developed a big interest in all thing related to food, nutrition and living a healthy lifestyle. I started to examine my options privately and after Joey and Lori both mentioned that it might be a good idea for me to look into it I started taking the search a little more seriously. I've come to terms with the fact that I won't be able to enroll until September 2010, but I'm excited nonetheless and feeling good about having a little bit more direction.

I recognize that registering for school means changing the arrangement of "my pie". I realistically won't be able to do a show for 2 years while attending and I'm okay with that. I will also need to take a little bit of time away from music but plan to continue dancing to help fuel my creative energies.

I'm really happy with all the things I've accomplished so far in life and I look forward to what is in store for me. I'm sure the things I'm doing now will lead me to new things and people and I find this prospect incredibly exciting. I have no idea where I expect to be five years from now, but I'm pretty sure that I will learn a lot along the way.

How do you find balance in your life? Five years ago, would you have imagined you would be where you are today? What has helped bring you to where you are now?