'As compared with life writing which expresses the writer's shifting understanding of past events, little has been written concerning the analysis of "life writing" about the future. As well as reflecting on some of the issues involved in analysing such an artefact, the article explores the gender and class patterns of the five "meaning motifs" found in the imagined life story essays written by 750 young Australians between 2000 and 2007: "love", "fulfilment", "wealth", "fame" and "fun".' Chilla Bulbeck.