I started to write a blog post about mental illnesses, but I guess that will just have to wait for another time since I just deleted the one sentence I had actually managed to write when this idea came into my head.
I was just in the middle of reminding you guys that when I'm older I want to be a doctor, and something just sort of didn't sit right with me about the phrase.
"What do you want to be when you're older" is a question we're asked by everyone almost from the moment we learn to talk. Teachers, friends and family, all want to know what beautifully innocent and completely impractical jobs young children dream up. Personally, I was never very creative, and just went with a fairy, before getting real and deciding on a princess instead (of course not forgetting my power ranger stage which came later).
Now that I'm 16 though, the whole "when you're older" bit that goes on the end sounds a bit silly. I mean, don't get me wrong, I know I'm not quite an adult yet, but I'm going to be going off to university in a couple of years, and suddenly the question has a whole different meaning.
When you were 11, you could decide what you wanted to be and know that in all likeliness you would change your mind before next weekend, let alone before your next birthday. Now though, everything's so much more serious, and real. When you say what job you want, you're actually expected to start to take steps to get there, the time for changing your mind is running out, and I think that's quite a scary thought.
Or is it?
I've always thought of a job as something that you chose once, and then you do that your whole life. For some people I'm sure that that is the case, but it doesn't have to be. What's to say that the job your 18 year old self wants to do is the same one that your 30 year old self wants to do? We might not be children any more but I think that adults are still allowed to change their minds.
The philosopher Confucius said, "Chose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." I think that most parents would tell something to their children along those lines. "The most important thing is that you love your job." I know that's what my parents rattled off to me. But then how come only 13% of people world wide actually enjoy going to work? The chances are your parents who gave you that same advice are in the 87% of people who aren't engaged in their job.
I feel very lucky that I know what I want to be. I've wanted to be a doctor for a very long time now. In fact, scrap that. I've known that I was made to be a doctor for a long time now. It sounds stupid but I feel like it's what I'm meant to do with my life.
So many people don't know what they want to be though. And you know what? That's great! You still get to figure out what's going to make you happy, and whether that's through taking a gap year or trying fifty different jobs, you'll find something that you think is worth your while in the end.
And it will be worth it.
As cheesy as it sounds, you do only live once, and like it or not working is a big part of most people's lives. It seems to me, then, that if you love your job, you're on track for a pretty happy existence.
I was just in the middle of reminding you guys that when I'm older I want to be a doctor, and something just sort of didn't sit right with me about the phrase.
"What do you want to be when you're older" is a question we're asked by everyone almost from the moment we learn to talk. Teachers, friends and family, all want to know what beautifully innocent and completely impractical jobs young children dream up. Personally, I was never very creative, and just went with a fairy, before getting real and deciding on a princess instead (of course not forgetting my power ranger stage which came later).
Now that I'm 16 though, the whole "when you're older" bit that goes on the end sounds a bit silly. I mean, don't get me wrong, I know I'm not quite an adult yet, but I'm going to be going off to university in a couple of years, and suddenly the question has a whole different meaning.
When you were 11, you could decide what you wanted to be and know that in all likeliness you would change your mind before next weekend, let alone before your next birthday. Now though, everything's so much more serious, and real. When you say what job you want, you're actually expected to start to take steps to get there, the time for changing your mind is running out, and I think that's quite a scary thought.
Or is it?
I've always thought of a job as something that you chose once, and then you do that your whole life. For some people I'm sure that that is the case, but it doesn't have to be. What's to say that the job your 18 year old self wants to do is the same one that your 30 year old self wants to do? We might not be children any more but I think that adults are still allowed to change their minds.
The philosopher Confucius said, "Chose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." I think that most parents would tell something to their children along those lines. "The most important thing is that you love your job." I know that's what my parents rattled off to me. But then how come only 13% of people world wide actually enjoy going to work? The chances are your parents who gave you that same advice are in the 87% of people who aren't engaged in their job.
I feel very lucky that I know what I want to be. I've wanted to be a doctor for a very long time now. In fact, scrap that. I've known that I was made to be a doctor for a long time now. It sounds stupid but I feel like it's what I'm meant to do with my life.
So many people don't know what they want to be though. And you know what? That's great! You still get to figure out what's going to make you happy, and whether that's through taking a gap year or trying fifty different jobs, you'll find something that you think is worth your while in the end.
And it will be worth it.
As cheesy as it sounds, you do only live once, and like it or not working is a big part of most people's lives. It seems to me, then, that if you love your job, you're on track for a pretty happy existence.