“Where do you see yourself in five years?”

It is almost a cruel question to ask a young person who is so hopeful and uncertain

That’s the moment that they pull the curtain

The very mention of that question make the hairs stand up on the back of my neck

And I think to myself what the heck?

A mask of confidence appears across my face

Hoping to say the words they will embrace

I pull out the smoke and mirrors

Disguising all of my fears

I answer with my strong and powerful voice

Inside not yet knowing what will be my choice

I regurgitate the answer I have prepared

To answer “I don’t know” I cannot bear

Knowing the truth stiffens my spine

The fact is, I can only see so far ahead in time

I’m almost afraid to answer the question

If I fail to take path mentioned

Will it cause me apprehension?

I feel I am putting my potential in a box

What if I fail at what was only talk?

Do I really want to know where I will be in five years?

To now know all of the disappointments and tears

That can happen in five years

Like Dorothy setting out on the yellow brick road

Not sure where it will lead

Longing for home, but knowing she must proceed

She knew she was trying to find the emerald city

In search for a brain, a heart, and courage for her friends

But no one knows where my yellow brick road ends

Somewhere over the rainbow I find my hopes and dreams

But it’s never as easy as it seems

In five years, will I find myself at the emerald city gates?

Or when I find my wizard of oz, will he make all of my fears dissipate?

This is the mask we all wear

These are the fears we all share

The truth is the yellow brick road never ends

It merely begins again and again

Because life is journey to a destination…

Beyond our imagination