I read a story awhile back about a group of kids in First Grade who were instructed by their teacher to draw a picture of what they wanted to be when they grew up. One student drew a picture of himself as a singer. The teacher picked it up, looked it over and gave it back to him and told him to draw something 'realistic'. I remember being pissed off at the story when I first heard it because childhood should be a time when you're allowed to let your imagination run wild and believe that you can be whatever you want when you grow up. There should've been nothing to stop that kid from believing he could be a singer someday. My niece is 12 and wants to be a hockey player when she grows up. My nephew wants to help others with hearing impairment. My other nephew wants to write books. My teenager wants to be a filmmaker. And my daughter is too young to know what she wants to be yet but will know as she gets older that she can be whatever she damn well pleases.
I think this post began in my head a few weeks ago. My cousin went back to college last year at the age of 27. He has an art degree but he's a nerd who loves to learn (I can say that since I'm one too) and wants to get a degree in literature or history. I walked in on a conversation he was having with another cousin about school and age and the future. The first thing I heard was one of them saying, "You could so not be a doctor..." and then when my college cousin saw me, he asked if I thought he could get his PhD. I said of course he could, he could be a doctor or anything else he wanted and everyone went their way and the conversation ended. But it got me thinking about how people just don't dream as much once they're adults. It's like all of that gets thrown by the wayside once we reach a certain age. And that sucks.
As a kid, I must have gone through twenty different scenarios of what I was gonna be when I grew up. I don't remember as much about my childhood as I wish I did, but I do remember wanting to be a medical doctor at some point. And an artist, even though I knew I couldn't draw well at all. I know that from the time I was 5, I wanted to be a musician or a record producer because music was always on in our house and I loved it. Then in elementary school I wanted to be a writer, I didn't care what kind. I would never have guessed film would take over my life in high school and beyond. So what do I dream about these days? A lot of stuff actually. But I very rarely allow my dreams to run away with me like they did when I was a kid. That's one thing that's changed I guess. But I still believe you can be whatever you want, regardless of age or situation. Part of me knows better but the other part doesn't care and would like to carry on being a dreamer. Wouldn't have it any other way.
