Millennials Who Peaked In The 2010s Are Revealing Just How Much Of Their Lives Diverged From Their Original Plan, And It's Surprisingly Inspiring

" Back then , I did n’t see myself living past my late XX . … I ’m happy I stuck it out . "

I was recently transported back to 2009, the peak of the “indie sleaze” era, when I attended theJust Like Heavenmusic fest in Los Angeles. Headliners like MGMT, M83, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and evenAzealia Bankstook me back to listening tomy blue iPod nanoon the way to AP Calculus. It got me so sentimental and I thought,Where did I think I was going to be today when I was back in high school, over 10 years ago?

Since nostalgia and millennial sadness were in the air that day, I asked other adults (including a few Gen X’ers) at the festival who they thought they’d be by now when they were in high school, how they’ve changed, and what their biggest regret is. In exchange for their honesty, I drew these anonymous portraits of them. Here are their stories:

mark : Some names and identifying details have been altered for anonymity .