WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?

'What do you want to be when you grow up?'  Our parents, teachers, relatives, and almost every other 'grown-up' that we have known, asked this question almost like a cassette tape player that played an 18-inch remix.  My standard answer then was 'doctor', 'lawyer'...as dictated to me by a parent or maybe a relative. And now that I have my own kiddos, I told myself and made a pact with my husband as well, to refrain from hounding our kids with this 'outdated' question.  As early as now, I can see that my kids are developing a lot of skills that could make for them a promising career.  But I guess the best way to treat it is to just 'let them be'.  As a mommy, my role is to support.  Make sure they enjoy every single moment in discovering and honing their skills, encouraging them to learn, make mistakes, be frustrated, be impatient, improve, erase, repaint, glue-up, or even start all over again... coz that's what's growing up is all about.

‘When we were five, they asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up. Our things were answers like astronaut, president, or in my case, princess. When we were ten, they asked us again. We answered - rock star, cowboy, or in my case, gold medalist. But now that we’ve grown up, they want a more serious answer. Well, how about this… Who the hell knows? This isn’t a time to make hard and fast decisions. This is the time to make mistakes. Take the wrong train and get stuck somewhere chill. Fall in love - a lot. Major in philosophy because there’s no way to make a career out of that. Change your mind. Then change it again because nothing is permanent. So make as many mistakes as you can. That way, someday, when they ask again what we want to be we won’t have to guess. We’ll know.’




- Jessica (Anna Kendrick)’s valedictory speech at the high school graduation - scene from Twilight: Eclipse movie