From the moment you start up a hobby, drawing ugly crayon pictures or building with legos, to the second your feet leave the middle school you went to for the last time you are asked a tough question. It starts off this aching questions is nothing but a sweet subject meant to receive a cute answer for the sake of some chuckles and giggles.

What do you want to be when you grow up, honey?

I didn't even say it and the question made me shudder. When I was little my parents would ask me this all the time. I would always say something cute and innocent like a ballerina, or a veterinarian so I could play with puppies all day. As a kid no one ever really knows obviously. But who knows maybe what you thought you would love to be as a kid is what you desire to be more than anything in the whole world. So the question poses itself one more time.

What do you want to be when you get out of highschool in two years?

The thing is, I don't know. I really don't. This world has given me so many options and I could do anything I want. I really could be that ballerina or veterinarian. I could be a doctor or a pilot. I could travel or not go to college. I could be a cop or a lawyer. I could go into the military. Heck, I could run for president.

I think that's the problem. I am in highschool and there are all of the amazing contributions I could give to the world but I'm simply too young to know. When you walk into high school you are urged to know what you want to do for the rest of your life. You need to know what college you might go to and what major you want to take in college. You need to be in an academy to lead yourself into your major, but don't you dare forget your core classes.

Now, I'm not complaining about school. Not even close. School is fantastic and education and knowledge is something we should all be striving towards however, the purpose of knowledge is not solely to acquire it for the sake of careers and money.

I have met countless teenagers who want to go into the medical field so they can make money and build something nice for their future families. I have met several people who go through AP classes not because they love the challenge and simply learning on a higher level but because it looks good on a resume. Yet all of them want to change the world. Everyone wants to do something amazing when they grow up.

What do you want to do when you grow up?

This question I feel is more appropriate. Some people want to make money when they grow up. Some people want to do things that make them happy when they grow up. Others want to change the world. I simply want to live. I want to learn and have a nice family. I want to travel and have a nice uplifting job that I love to wake up for in the morning.

I guess that's the point I'm trying to get across. There's nothing wrong with not knowing where you want to go to college. Nothing wrong with not knowing what you want to do for the rest of your life at an age where you aren't even considered an adult. Just keep planning and changing those planes. Then plan again. Life isn't a one road trip. you paint your streets, you paint your stars. Just remember never to travel backwards or to erase your constellations.