Why Asking Children What They Want To Be When They Grow Up Is A Bad Idea.

I wanted to grow into a lot of things, I didn't want to wait until I grow up.

Author: Gakunde Prayer

If there is a question that everyone got asked, be it at school, or at home, or just a stranger that you’ve just met, is “what do you want to be when you grow up”.

That question was also among questions that made a lot of my middle school teachers always stare at me or gossip about me. You probably wondering what happened!

When I was in Primary five, we had a new English teacher. He was in his forties and was as strict as you can imagine. When he came in our class, just like every new teacher, we had to introduce ourselves.

So he asked each of us to stand up, say his or her names and what he or she wanted to be when they grow up.

All of my classmates loved this question because once they fantasized (that’s what I thought) their dreams to someone, they would get the “if you study hard you will be what you aspire to be” typical advise.

This was different for me. Honestly, I hated that question. Who even wants to grow up anyways? I didn’t. I loved being a kid. I hated birthdays and new year's eves because it meant that I was growing up. Which I didn’t like.

So when it was my turn, I went in front of the class and said. “my name is Paola, and I don’t want to grow up”. The Teacher looked at me perplexed. You do not want to grow up? He repeated louder with a very confused and threatening voice.

Of course I didn’t want to grow up. I had seen a lot of grownups that were beggars, and my Dad would always say to me, “if you don’t study hard, you will end up like them” “if you don’t do your homework, you will end up like them” and I was already exhausted that I didn’t want a chance to grow up.

What if I was unlucky and ended up like them? Seeing everyone telling their kids not to be like me, wasn’t something I wanted to see when am old. So, I didn’t want to grow up.

Almost everyone in my school, from teachers, to students, janitors and the whole staff members knew about my answer and now everyone would stare at me whenever I passed by. Some would laugh at me, others would say things like;

• Paola doesn’t have a dream,

• Paola wants to remain a kid,

• Paola should go back to baby class,

• Paola this Paola that.

Till one day when the morning assembly was over, our headmistress invited me to her office and asked me about it. We talked about how I don’t have to think about remaining a child but rather;

• Not setting just one goal

• Dream a lot of things

• Achieve all those things without focusing on just good grades and keeping tidy notes like my Dad always said.

• Also being creative and hard working.

I really loved her idea of dreaming a lot of things, rather than just saying I will be a doctor, or I will be a pilot or those other dreams that kids dream of.

So when someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up, I would smile and say, I wanna grow into a lot of things, I don’t want to wait until I grow up.

Fast forward nineteen years later, when I finished my high school. I have came to realize that what I didn’t want wasn’t growing up. It's the routine that comes with growing up that I didn't like.

The life of a grown up consists of waking up, getting ready, going to work or at the gym, eating and sleeping ready to repeat that circle again and again. This is why I didn’t want to look for a full time job.

I started painting and selling my paintings instead. I’ve been doing it for two years now, and I think that it's the best decision I ever made. I didn't want to pursue a conventional career path.

I wanted to create a career path and lifestyle that suites me. It's the idea of metaphor of not growing up I had when I was in Primary school which is to remain creative and adventurous like a child. You don't have to follow the popular path.

What challenges did you experience ? Or was your experience different from mine? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.