"What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?"

The phrase most associated with my educational experience is "What do you want to be when you grow up?". Regardless of being a five year old entering kindergarten, or a fifteen year old becoming a sophomore, this question has haunted all aspects of school for me. Behind each in-class essay, strenuous math problem, or creative science lab there has been this reoccurring echo. We've all heard it, there's no doubt about that. The moment a child learns how to read and write in elementary school, he or she is given a printed paper with one line on it. What do you want to be when you grow up? 

When we were young, most of us wrote "astronaut" or some other type of brave, cool job in society. We didn't know that life extended to the reaches of desk secretaries, janitors, or accountants. How were we to know that only two or three students out of hundreds would grow up to do what they loved? We've practically been raised in a boxing ring for the adults of society to place bets on their favorites.

Most children didn't understand the question. Most people still don't understand it. And when we grow up, most people choose their occupation based off pressure from peers, family, etc. It is becoming increasingly important to answer this inexplicable thought in our mind. Through endless repetition, society is engraving it into each and every action we carry out in our lives. Lately, as each day passes I find myself feeling excruciatingly cramped in a shrinking glass room, with adults examining every move I make. With each test I take, I wonder, how many questions do I have to miss in order to barely fall short of the college cut? It seems as if disappointment and failure lurk around every corner, and some days it's hard to wake up with a positive attitude. 

I hope I can accomplish whatever I set my mind to, and I hope you can, too.