Imaging the Self in 2020

I live in an area outside of town with my partner David & dog and many cats. My mother lives on the property in her own flat. My son is completing his PhD in Quantum Physics at a nearby university, and lives in the basement apartment. We have some land where I plant fruits and vegetables - rather than buy from the store (in the last five years we've seen an increase in ads for 'organic' foods that were later proven to be false & mass produced, and foods that have been genetically modified). We buy our beef & pork from a local farm, our turkey and chicken from Dave's brother, and we pick up cheese from the mennonites in a small town 100 km north. Having said that, we own mobile devices that keep us constantly connected to the outside world via wifi satellite internet. We have gaming gadgets and platforms that we share and play with together.

Our home isn`t huge, but comfortable with enough room for a house guest in times of need. We`ve rennovated the home (and property) to try and make it more energy efficient: solar panels, wind turbines on the property and composts. In short, we try and live a very green life - and we rely more on sustaining ourselves. We also trade items with our network of friends - some of whom are local, where others we connect with online to arrange longer distance trades. Our network of friends share knowledge and information with one another & collaborate often. We`re green geeks. For me, going back to basics and being self sufficient are not only better for the environment and the local economy, but also better for health reasons given the problems with the food.

I work as Professor at a nearby university still teaching and researching people, communities, societies & cultures. I teach young adults how to critically unpack world issues (and the everyday mundane) and to recognize the problematics, how to consider the significance & implications of these issues, and how to incite social change. Having tenure has freed up time to conduct various research projects and paper writing, where I can spend time with the people and communities I research and teach about.