What do you
want to be when you grow up? It’s a question we’ve all heard since we were
kids, and have had to deal with ever since. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a
pizza man or a police man. As my life went on, I began to realize that being a
pizza man wouldn’t exactly pan out, and being a police man didn’t interest me.
Through my years of elementary school, I struggled with that question multiple
times, unsure of where I wanted to “go” in the future. Entering high school,
like many I was still confused with what path I wanted to take, trying out a
few different things to see if I’d like them. For some reason, I had the idea
in my head that I HAD to choose one path, and one path only to make a future
for myself. By the time I graduated high school, I had to pick the one path I
would continue on to, which has led to where I am today. I followed all the
steps, made decisions and came to a solution that I’ve followed through on in
order to make my future successful. So why am I not fully happy?
From a
young age, we’ve often heard that we will need to make a hard decision – we
need to figure out what we “want to be” when we grow up. Now that I’m at the
part of my life that “what I want to be” should start to happen, I’ve come to
realize that working towards being some clear cut person, with a clear cut view
of the future is an extremely boxed-in view of life. When I was a kid, I could
choose from endless possibilities of what I wanted to be when I grew up. There
were thousands upon thousands of different paths to look at. As life went on, I
began to slowly close off paths that seemed impossible or unrealistic, until I
was left with a few in front of me that didn’t really fulfill my dreams and
aspirations.
One does
not have to pick one set path to follow for their future. Sure, if we are
planning on going to college or university we need to pick a major or
specialization, but that doesn’t mean that we only need to focus on that when considering
our future. Right now, I’m halfway through my degree in business, and while I
love it, I’ve come to realize that there are a lot of other things I want to do
and should be doing with my life - for starters, I love video games, and while
I didn’t pick that for university, I definitely want to have a future in entertainment
and making myself and others happy. I also really, REALLY love the wilderness
and nature, and if I had the chance I would go camping in the woods for months
at a time. While that isn’t necessarily realistic, one day I’d want to open up
my own summer camp for kids and adults alike, where they can learn to enjoy the
camp lifestyle and also have a great time forging long-lasting friendships.
Whenever
someone asks me what I wanted be when I grow up, I tell them I wanted to be a
police man and a pizza man. Usually they laugh and ask how that worked out for
me. Of course I say that it didn’t, but it’s helped me gain a true appreciation
for how I should live my life: to be free, optimistic and to keep my options
open. I don’t want to end up in a dead-end job that I stopped caring about
because it’s all I did. I want to have a lifestyle I love, with a career that I’m
proud of and an enthusiastic, loving and caring attitude that I bestow upon
everyone around me.
If you’ve
read this far, take a moment to think about how you answered that one question
when you were little. Chances are, you said something really unrealistic and
hilarious, and you’re probably laughing right now. When we were kids, the world
was an amazing, beautiful place where you could achieve anything. It was a
place where you could laugh at the smallest things and do the things that you
loved, a place where you could dream of rocket ships, flying airplanes and
being a famous singer. It was a place where you hadn’t a care in the world.
Nowadays, you have more responsibilities and things to do. There’s an
expectation for you to go to school, get a job and advance your career. Even
so, in today’s world you can still achieve anything – you can still dream big.
Take a moment to think of your dream job, or your dream house, or what you want
to be doing for the rest of your life. Remember that the premise of having one
specific life path in front of you doesn’t matter, and make your dreams into
reality.
