Where do you see yourself in 20 years?

The adorable Jane Yee is on holiday this week and has lined up a series of guest bloggers to populate The Girls' Guide in her absence. The first one, posted Louisa Eades, has got off to a roaring start. The dreadful 80s photo on The ghost of twentysomething's future sucked me in much the same way as watching the proverbial car crash: you can't bear to look at it directly, but somehow you can't resist sneaking another peak. This photo is the real thing, and not some 'retro' 80s dress-up imitated a decade or two later.

The questions were asked: Where do you see yourself in 20 years? What outfit will you look back upon one day and wince? And what are your three essential items?

Gosh, sometimes I don't know where I will be in 20 days or even 20 minutes! Despite the best laid plans in my teens and twenties, I never saw myself where I am today, or even where I will be tomorrow. My career and personal life are vastly different to what I would ever have imagined. That's not necessarily a bad thing; it's just how things are. I still can't see what's around the next corner of this rollercoaster track that is my life and am learning to tolerate this. Sometimes it bothers me more than others (today, very much so).

I "grew up" very young and was incredibly focused during my twenties, working long and hard on developing my career, undertaking further education, and building long-term financial independence. My personal life, hopes and dreams went on hold (or out the window entirely) as a result and I realised a couple of years ago that I needed so make some big changes; things looked good for me from the outside looking in, but I certainly was neither happy nor fulfilled. However, I never saw myself developing Peter Pan syndrome once I hit my thirties; I really don't know what I want to do when I grow up! This article is great: Want to make God laugh? Tell him your plans.

As for a wince-worthy outfit from my past ... well, I was an 80s kid, but thankfully young enough to escape the biggest of those fashion crimes. We had to sew a skirt of some sort in 3rd form clothing; I made an incredibly stylish (for 1988!) red corduroy bubble skirt, which never saw the light of day outside the clothing classroom.

And my three essential items? Sadly, it's my keys, wallet, and mobile phone (although this one is out of necessity; by choice, it would be my iPod or my MacBook Pro).

So, where do you see yourself in 20 years? Are you brave enough to confess a cringe-worthy outfit? And what three items can you not do without at this stage in your life?