when i grow up

As children, so many of us were asked the question " What do you want to be when you grow up"? And of course we came up the coolest things we thought we could be at the time. A princess, A hockey player, A 'bull dozer' driver....and so on. We were so young, none of us knew what kind of work was involved to become the people we see everyday like doctors, or police officers or fire fighters. We just thought they were cool and hey, we could do it if we wanted too.
Our parents were usually the ones who would ask that loaded question .... and when we were 3 and 4 the answer we gave them was comical and they enjoyed the fact that we were so oblivious and ambitious at the same time. Then we grew a little older... got into our high school years and the question suddenly had a little more meaning. And when we were asked it, the answer started to stray from what we wanted to be - to what we're going to take in school. But now that we're in school the question has become heavier than it has ever seemed before. Its actually morphing from "What do you want to be when you grow up?" to "Your grown up now what exactly are you doing?"
Some of us still have those same answers as we did when we were young. We're going to be doctors, we're going to be police officers... key phrase " we're going to be". So what about us. The ones who no longer have a clue and can only answer " I don't know". Why are we treated like people who are "wasting time and money" in school. Why cant i just go and learn and figure it out. Why am i rushing into a 3o some odd year career?

Then there are those parents.. who think their child will be the be all and end all in their university career. Oh yes, my kid is so smart he should have no problem taking 8 classes this year and coming home every weekend to work. Ya right. If your kid is so smart, they should be smart enough to tell you that they are 18 years old and they can think for themselves. Let them figure out their boundaries on their own. Don't set them for them before they even get there. I used to like school. I mean ... I still like school. But school has been unfair to me. Its not going to go smoothly for everyone and for those of us who have to overcome certain obstacles, i hope it makes us stronger in the end. I've learned that you cannot look at someone else's performance and say " how are they still in school"? School is different for everyone. Life is different for everyone. But in the end, if you want to be that princess, if you want to be that doctor, or if you just want to learn... you can.