Clearing some stuff out of my parents’ house recently, I found some stories I wrote when I was about 11 (I loved writing stories as a child). These were all set in what was then the future, with me as an adult. Virtually every character in the story was based one of my school friends at the time; we were all still close as adults (to the point that I’d invented marriages between us).
It struck me that, at that age, it hadn’t really occurred to me that childhood friendships wouldn’t necessarily survive into adulthood. This was probably quite an extreme example - I probably knew even then that I wouldn’t have the exact same circle of friends all my life - but the idea that my best friends would disappear from my life just wouldn’t have entered my head.
It also got me thinking about where I’d expected to live as an adult. From childhood I had a “dream house” - this cottagey-looking bungalow just around the corner. I don’t think I quite gave up on the idea until my teens! Now, the thought of living within five - ten minutes walk of where I grew up just feels stifling, but as a child it seemed natural.
So, just for fun, what did your dream adulthood look like compared to the reality?