Ah, the joy of end-of-the-year graduation parties. And all the well-meaning, but overly curious family members that come with them. As I saddle up for another round of family parties the months of June and July are sure to welcome, I can't help but ponder the ever present question of "What do you want to be when you grow up?" A question that has plagued children, tweens, teens, and soon-to-be-adults from the days of kindergarten to the haunted days before college graduation. A question that, to me, seems so carelessly asked and thrown around that no one stops to ponder what it really means and what the implications of it truly are.
To ask the question "what do you want to be when you grow up?" insinuates that we all do in fact "grow up." But, what does it mean to "grow up"? Does it mean moving from childhood to adolescence to adulthood? When does a person reach adulthood? These are all questions created simply by using the term "grow up." The implication of those two little words holds a far greater meaning than most people asking the above question ever. For instance, aren't I already grown? I mean I haven’t physically grown any taller since 5th grade and some shoes from when I was ten still fit me. So, I would say that I am pretty grown, well physically that is.
More than the implications the question of "what do you want to be when you grow up?" brings up when asked, the mental drag of the constant repetition of the question is real. It is not just hearing the question once or twice at a party but hearing it over and over and over again that is just a constant degradation on a person's very being. Now, as dramatic as that sounds it is the truth. As if I did not already live in a perpetual state of nervous energy, I love having the impending thought of what I want to do with my whole future shoved in my face at every turn by various family members at a graduation party in the backyard. That just sounds like my dream come to life. In case no one could tell that was sarcasm.
Now do not get me wrong, it is a great thing to set goals for one's future and strive to be something and do something worth while. However, all things in moderation. It is one thing to think about your future at your own leisure and a complete other to have various family members repeatedly ask you a question that really makes little to no sense when you think about it. What does it mean to "grow up"? Do any of us truly "grow up"? Or, do we all just fake it until the day we die? Pretending like we know how to files taxes and are angered at property value going down. No matter if you know how to file taxes, consider yourself an adult or even a teen, just think twice the next time you ask or are asked the question "what do you want to be when you grow up?"
