People my age are frequently asked what we want to do when we grow up. Or even what we want to major in for college. When they ask this question, they’re looking for a generic answer such as I want to be a doctor, or a lawyer, or a teacher. It is so hard to pick just one thing to be for the rest of your life. I don’t ever want to think about what I want to do for the rest of my life, I like to think about who I see myself as and who I want to be as a person. I think life is more about our feelings and our memories than our income and our occupations.  Some people are passionate about their careers and have wanted to be the same thing since they were kids. But I have never thought about my work in that sense. I think about the time that I have around it. I think about who I want to be to other people and what I want my relationships to look like. I think about how I want to sing and to dance and to experience the world.  We only have so much time to do what we love and to explore ourselves and our boundaries. I wish that when adults ask us what we want to be when we grow up that they are looking for the answer that shows who we want to be as a person in the future. Because there should be so much more space in our lives to be aware and to learn about ourselves.

Pc: Zach Byars