Last year we asked a group of first-year students (who enrolled at York in 1996/97) to predict their own futures. We wanted to know where they thought they'd be in the year 2000 when they graduated. An impossible task? Maybe. But we had a hunch those plans/dreams/selves might change as university worked its magic on their souls. In some respects, we were right. Interviewing the students again a year later has revealed some changes, some shifts in thought - not only about who they are as people, but also about who they think they want to be.

    We'll continue to talk to this bright group of Generation Y every year until they graduate. Thereafter, we'll interview them every five years, as they make their way in the world.

    A year ago we wrote that all five seemed to be discovering that the answers to questions about who they were and what they wanted from life were more complex than they, at first, imagined. Their comments this year seem to illustrate that, and echo Antonio Machado's maxim that for the traveller, "There is no path/Paths are made by walking."

    Lawrence Lew Ho Cheun is still a long way from home, but says he's settling in nicely to Canada. This is a bit of a shift for Lew Ho Cheun, who said in first year that coming to Canada made him realize his "place was in Mauritius." Now he's talking about getting out to see the world. "I'd like to see more of Canada and Europe during the coming summers, but I might not be able to because I have to work, and because of course loads," he says.

    Lew Ho Cheun says he's trying to be a lot more open about his life, both to change and possibilities. Last year he talked about getting a good job and getting married. Now he says marriage is the "last of my priorities."

    One shift for Lew Ho Cheun is his interest in finance. "Originally I was just thinking about computer science for a graduate degree. But now the thought of working in finance appeals to me. But mostly? I'm not making any plans, just living day to day."

    Paula Silva has certainly made some changes. When she first came to York she majored in English and geography. She's kept the English, but switched her other minor to political science.

    "I had a good friend I hung around a lot with at York. She and I were always getting into these great arguments. She was in political science, so I think it was probably her influence that led me to make the change," says Silva.

    As she did last year, Silva still maintains that a job is important to her, and sees a good education as a means to that end. But she says she also recognizes now that knowledge in general is important. "I think it [learning] is the kind of thing that will help you throughout life. You keep learning. One of my role models was my high school principal. When he retired he went back to school! He always said you have to keep up."

    Another shift for Silva is her developing interest in law. "I'm still interested in teaching as a career. I still give some thought to that. But when I took a course in constitutional law it got me thinking in some other directions. I'd probably be interested in family law and dealing with issues like custody."

    The best thing about her York experience so far is being able to learn new things and being able to argue points of view, she says.

    "I've always done well in English, and I like the fact that you can learn to say things in different ways."

    Silva's life strategies these days seem to be keeping her options open. "I know what the work force is like. I want a lot of different backgrounds."

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