Ok so I'll admit it...I'm not the world's best planner. Sure, I keep my tasks organized and get my bills paid on time and hate to be late for anything, but you know those last minute sales on Christmas Eve? Yep...those are for me. That whole call to schedule your doctor's appointment two months in advance? Nah, I'll give him a call and see if he has any open slots tomorrow. I'm a walk in to get my haircut kinda guy. I slowly start planning birthday gifts weeks in advance but don't actually go out and buy them until the week before and I didn't have a final plan for how I would propose until the week before it happened. And even then I realized that I had no back up plans if it rained that day (fortunately for me, it didn't!). I didn't plan on becoming an interface analyst at UPMC my freshman year at Saint Vincent. Actually, I didn't even plan on majoring in bioinformatics. My goal graduating high school was to get a physical therapy degree and go into a sports science or sports medicine field. But man how things change. 

My cross country coach in high school would always tell us, "Failure to plan is planning to fail," and it seemed that at any point in my life I have had a plan for the future:

At age 13, I was sure that I wanted to be a priest.

At age 16, I was sure that I wanted to be a physical therapist, until I learned that me and blood/needles/broken bones aren't the best of friends.

At age 18, I was sure that I was going to graduate high school and major in Bioinformatics (no blood/needles/broken bones!) 

At age 19, I was sure that I wanted to go to graduate school and earn my master's degree.

At age 20, I was sure that the research industry was not for me and that four years of college were plenty to get a good job.

At age 21, I was sure that whatever career I acquired, I wanted absolutely nothing to do with computers and coding.

At age 22, I was sure that I had just accepted a job working with computers and coding.

At age 24, (last month) I was sure that my role at UPMC was to remain an interface analyst, until UPMC went through a reorganization phase, and I am still awaiting the outcome. 

You know what they say...The only constant in life is change. Good thing too...imagine what the world would be like with these goons running around:

Well...we might not have changed, but at least we are better dressed. I guess the takeaway is to be prepared for what life throws at you but at the same time, be open to changes. Don't let  changes or the unknown hold you back.