Exploring Visions of Individual Futures: A Study on Polish and Malaysian Academic Youths

In the era of globalization, it is essential to understand how young people envision their future. This study focuses on exploring the hopes, dreams, and plans of Polish and Malaysian students. It focuses on examining their aspirations, concerns, and strategies. Respondents were tasked with articulating their perceptions of future trajectories, facilitating an exploration of their envisaged pathways. The article presents results from the qualitative study on young Polish and Malaysian students. The main research aim was to explore the students’ visions of their future lives. The participants were requested to write an essay with an exact instruction: “How would you like to spend an ordinary weekday in 10 years (in the year 2033)? Please provide a detailed description”. In total, 172 essays were obtained (92 from Polish students and 80 from Malaysian students, all aged 19-24). The main areas of life, as well as dominant patterns, aspirations and differences between Polish and Malaysian students were distinguished. The analysis revealed that the visions of ordinary and conventional lives in the future are predominant in both countries. Both groups of students emphasize on the importance of good quality of mental health. Polish students are more willing to refer to fear and anxiety about individual futures, mostly concerning the need of having their own estate. In turn, Malaysian students pay more attention to using new technologies and owning gadgets.