Life experience · 1 ·

‘What do you want to do when you grow up?’

I think everyone has already heard this kind of question at least once. Everybody knows that we will hear this question more often as we grow up.

I hated that question.

Even now, while attending university, I would still not know what kind of answer I should give.
What do people even want to hear? What do they expect me to say?
I cannot tell you any fancy things like ‘I am going to be a doctor’ or ‘I am going to be a lawyer’.
However I still have goals and dreams, yet I do not want to be discouraged by people whose expectations I do not meet.

The question I would always ask myself is why a young teen should already know what he or she wants to do when grown up. You cannot expect us to have our whole future planned out perfectly already.

The pressure is crushing. Suffocating.

Do not drag young people down in case they will not pursue a profession that is considered respectable by society.
While pursuing a dream we do not panic about questions like ‘How much money can you earn with this job later?’. Of course we still think about it from time to time but that matter will not be our top priority.

Since childhood we always try to please other people. In hope of getting praised. But what if the things they want for us are not the things we want?
We do not want to waste our life with something somebody else decided for us. It may be true that you could earn more. But are you happy? Are you going to be happy? Just think about it for a moment and decide for yourself.
I can tell you that I am probably not going to be happy.

Not everyone can be a lawyer. Not everyone can be a doctor.

Keep in mind that a person who is able to follow a dream, no matter what it is, earns a lot of respect and is not to be looked down on.

Those people are going to be the happier ones.

The next time you ask someone about their plans for the future, please listen to them, just listen.
You should consider yourself lucky if they chose to tell you about their dreams. They are eager to do everything to reach their goals.
Please do not dishearten the person by offering negative opinions they did not ask for.