What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?
Life is so much more than professions and the status quo.
We spend our childhood hearing the same question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s as if we’re told that we are nothing until we become something. We need to study and acquire roles to be deemed useful. Simply existing isn’t enough.
We shouldn’t burden children with such questions. Instead, we should teach them that they are enough just as they are and that they have nothing to prove to anyone. We should guide them to be true to themselves, to broaden their horizons, and to find their calling. Later on, they can decide if they want to pursue it as a career or not.
Let children be children. Let people be people, free from musts and uncomfortable questions.
Society teaches us from a very tender age to monetize every talent or interest we have. If you want to help animals, you should become a vet. If you like to bake, be a pastry chef. Enjoy nature? Become a geologist. Love to play the piano? Make it a career.
Don’t get me wrong, loving what you do as a profession is significant, but we shouldn’t feel compelled to monetize every single hobby we have. You don’t have to be a professional athlete because you like to run or a gardener because you enjoy spending time with your plants. Keep something for yourself, something that brings you joy without the pressure of profit.
Our profession does not define us in any way. We shouldn’t worry about prestige in a world that often fakes respect. We should respect ourselves enough to understand that what makes us worthy isn’t what kind of job we have but what kind of person we are.
We aren’t put on this earth just to answer emails, work endlessly, and pay taxes. We are here to explore nature, meet new people, fall in love, and maybe even create new happy people.
Let’s leave this nonsense behind and just enjoy the little time we have on this earth. In the end, it won’t matter how reputable we were but how loved we were. We will see that it was never about how much money we made but how truly and fully we lived.
Life is so much more than professions and the status quo. Don’t forget to live!
If you’ve reached the end, thank you! Your support means a lot. Feel free to drop a comment and share your thoughts — let’s chit-chat about anything you wish! :)
