What Do You Want to be When You Grow Up?

What do you want to be when you grow up? I have often pondered this question, and have yet to discover an answer. As a senior in high school, figuring out where to go and what to do is the priority.

When my sister was little, she always wanted to be a writer. When my older brother was little, he wanted to be a business man. When my younger brother was little, he always wanted to be everything, he still wants to do everything. My youngest brother is little, and he wants to be an architect, engineer, plumber, and an electrician.

When I was little, I always wanted to be a marine biologist. One day I was reading a book about the ocean, with rainbow-colored fish, sparking water, and florescent coral reefs. Nothing intriges me like the mystery of the ocean and it's beauty. I remember being on vacation in Cape Cod and I was sitting relaxed and comfy in a big chair inside. I read through the book all about coral and fish, and there were so many pictures of the most wonderful pictures.

I loved to read ocean books and just gaze at the moments underwater photographers captured to show readers like me whats underneath the big, blue ocean. My mom got me a deck of cards with all sorts of ocean creatures on them. Instead of play cards, I used them to study the creatures of the ocean, because I just loved everything about marine life so much. Watching the National Geographic movies on ocean life was one of my most favorite past times to participate in.

Back in Cape Cod, the little girl who wanted to be one with the ocean came to the last page of the book about marine life. That page was the page that showed me what the real world looked like. To be a marine biologist, extensive knowledge on science, math, and engineering are required. Studying, analyzing, hypothesizing, drawing conclusions from data and research, lots of writing and thinking are essential to a successful career in marine biology. As my eyes fell on the final page of that children's ocean book, I understood that marine biology could never be for me, because I am not scientifically engineered to grasp such concepts and information.

Today, as a young person headed off into the world of college and careers, what I want to be when I grow up is a pressing question weighing upon my mind. What am I good at? What do I love to do? What kind of lifestyle do I want? Whatever I do, I want to be happy and help others with the gift I will have to give. I want to go to work simply loving what I'm doing with my life.

My love for the ocean has turned into a S.C.U.B.A. license and a dream of building my own, beautiful beach house. Even though I will never be a marine biologist, one can be sure that what I am going to do with my life will be whatever helps me achieve the best-version-of-myself, even if I grow up and never know what I want to be.