“Who am I? 24601!”
OK, sorry guys, but this isn’t a musical. So let me start over. Now, the question that I’m going to try and answer is: Who am I? This may seem like a simple question with a simple answer, but my answer isn’t that simple.
In fact, I’ve learned that there are still some people who are out in the real world, who have a job, who have a house, who are married, who have kids, people who you think have their entire lives figured out already, yet they still don’t have an answer to that question.
That’s because our society believes in one destiny that is meant for everyone. Society has been pressuring us to find our destiny ever since we were little. From, “What do you want do you want to be when you grow up?” to “What will be your major in college?” we’ve all been expected to follow that one standard: that ultimately, we’re all supposed to have one job, one significant other, one house with the white picket fence, more than one kid, and one happy and perfect life by a certain age.
Newsflash: not everyone follows that one destiny belief.
That’s because not everyone who follows and lives that stereotypical perfect life is happy. They could hate their job. They could hate their marriage. They could have no friends. They could not have a good relationship with their kids. They could have a lot of debt. They are absolutely miserable. So you shouldn’t immediately judge someone based on their lifestyle. Because I do not want to be miserable. I want to be happy. And if my happy life doesn’t include the one job, the one significant other, the one house with the white picket fence, or multiple kids, that is fine by me.
Because I was not put on this earth to be trapped in some old and dingy office with a lousy and cruel boss. I was not put on this earth to walk into work every day as if I’m a robot. I was put on this earth to live. I was put on this earth to choose my own destiny.
Who knows what will happen in my life after I graduate college? I may switch jobs when I’m 35. I may have three kids or no kids. I may not get married at age 25. I may not graduate college as a journalism major. I may not live in New York City. Maybe I’ll end up in San Francisco, Boston, Chicago or even Poughkeepsie.
I believe that people who don’t follow that one destiny belief are curious. Because in our society today, curiosity is lost. Throughout our entire lives, we have been taught to not be curious. We have been told to hold our tongues, sit up straight, keep our eyes on our own paper, if you don’t know the answer fill in C because the teacher can’t help you, you’re supposed to know the material, and that it is better to not say anything than have everybody stare at you with disgust when you ask a question.
We have not been taught to say something if we see something. We have been taught to keep our mouths shut and our heads down if we see something.
The world is filled with endless possibilities. Some of us are just too scared to explore. Some of us are too scared to say something if we believe that something isn’t right. Some of us are too scared to think outside of the box. Some of us are too scared to be curious.
Now, I know what you’re all thinking: “Who is Caroline Fiske?” To answer your question: I am curious. By definition: I have a strong desire to know or learn something. By doing that I ask questions. I speak up. I explore my options. I get out of my comfort zone or as my acting coach calls it: “daring to be bad.” I choose my own destiny. And I don’t care what other people think of me.
Does that answer your question?