When I was a kid, I distinctly remember telling my mom that I wanted to be an author when I grew up. In addition, I wanted to marry an illustrator to draw pictures for my books. I was so dead set on this plan that I wrote little stories that my teacher forced me to read in front of my whole class (looking back, I should genuinely be embarrassed, but hey, I was eight). Most kids my age wanted to be veterinarians or professional athletes or astronauts. I wanted to write.
Now, just beginning my twenties, I find that I still have similar ambitions from when I was a kid. I still love to write and I have dreams of someday publishing my own novel, although the whole fantasy of marrying an illustrator has kind of gone out the window. I still want to explore the world. That eight-year-old who shared her first story about a ghost (and couldn't even spell it right) with her third grade class is still inside of me. Although my dreams may have been altered a bit, the basis remains the same.
I also used to collect snow globes when I was young. Every time my family went somewhere, I always brought home a snow globe as my souvenir. When my family would travel, they would do the same for me. I was collecting little frozen moments in time, sentiments of the place I had just explored or longed to explore. Now, instead of collecting pictures in little glass enclosures, I'm collecting real memories. I'm exploring the world the way I wanted to when I was a kid. Studying abroad has given me the dream I always so desired.
I guess my point here is to not forget those childhood ambitions you had. They should say a lot about who you are and what your true passions in life are. When you're young, you are still free of the hazy judgement people will place on you. You don't yet understand society's standards. All of your hopes and dreams and real and raw. The only influence is your own. This is something you should hold on to, no matter how ridiculous it all may seem now.
Take a moment to reflect on your own childhood dreams. You can deny it all you want, but we all have them. We all have someone we wanted to be or something we wanted to do. Maybe they started when you were young and evolved as your entered adolescence. Maybe they didn't even solidify until you started high school. It's different for everyone, yet it's something we all experience. It's okay if you're in your twenties now, like me, and still have no clue what you really want to do with your life; that's normal. But, maybe you should go back and ask yourself that age-old question: What do you want to be when you grow up?
