As I have grown up, I have always received too many questions from adults.  It started with something pointless such as “what’s your favorite dinosaur?”  This question evolves into “what sports do you like?”, or “what college do you want to go to?”  Above all of these questions, there is the infamous “what do you want to be when you grow up?” We hear it all of the time, and it becomes something you just give a cookie cutter answer to every time Aunt Sally or Uncle Joe asks you at the Fourth of July barbeque or Christmas party.  If you really think about it though, what kind of question is that? I got my driver’s license last year, am I really qualified or expected to have my whole life planned out. Well, if you take it one more step and really think about this question, and I mean truly think about it, the anxiety goes away.  It isn’t “what do you know you will be?”, or “what law firm do you want to work at?”, or “who are you going to do your taxes with?” The question is “What do you WANT to be?”

It would be very easy to lead a normal life. Go to college, get a job, make a family, and fade away. I can say for certain that this isn’t what I want to do when I grow up.  Too often we fall into the societal normality for how to lead life. All of these years when I have been asked that same irritating question, little did I know that I am being set up for a life that I truly want to lead.  Now I just have to figure out what I actually want to do. I call that the easy part. The hard part, in my opinion is realizing that I wanted to live in a way that isn’t normal by most standards. I say figuring out what I want to do is the easy part because I want to do what I like, and it isn’t hard to tell what passions I have. I just have to realize them, and embrace them.

There are a few things that I know I want to do for certain.  I want to go to college and I want to get a “normal” job for a few years.  Sharpening my knowledge and saving some money seems like a pretty good idea.  After that, I know I want to travel. Where to? I’m not sure yet, but there are a few places that are definitely on a checklist.  Iceland, New Zealand, Peru, Lebanon. For me, the fun part is not knowing where else my travels will take me. I am also sure that I want to live in a big city for a couple of years.  New York has always had my heart, but hey, that might change. Places such as San Francisco, San Diego, Boston, and Chicago have their appeal as well. Again, the most fun part in the spontaneity of life.

The reason that my previous two adventures are so appealing is that they set me up for the two things I want to do above all else.  The first of which is to help. Help fight racism in the world, help fight oppression, help change one person’s life for the better, or simply just help where help is needed.  The second of the two, fall in love. Obviously I couldn’t write this story about the dream of a hopeful teenage without including something as cliche as wanting to fall in love.  Falling in love is something that is so stereotypical for a kid such as me to say, but it is powerful above all else. The perfect girl could be waiting just around the corner, or I could even already know her. Travelling and living in a big city are perfect for love and helpfulness.  Having someone you love to go on that thirty day trek through Latin America with, or to watch the sunset from atop an apartment building with, priceless.

I obviously have to go to a music festival here and there, sing at a few campfires, drive some fast cars a little faster than I should, but I think that will all come naturally.  If I live for love, finding it and giving it to others, than all the stupid things young adults do will just come naturally. I am neither someone who is scared of the future and wants to live in the past, nor someone who hates the present and wants to rush the future.  I can not change time, so why live wanting to. The only thing I can do is take life one moment at a time, doing the best that I can. I plan to live my best life doing what I can to love the world around me, and having a little bit of fun. So from now on when I get that question, “what do you want to do when you grow up?”, or “what do you want to be when you grow up?”, I’ll most likely have the same cookie cutter answer for Aunt Sally and Uncle Joe, but for those you are truly asking, I can tell them with my whole heart that I want to lead an unforgettable life, and that I have already started.