When I Grow Up | Teen Ink

When I Grow Up MAG

April 24, 2009
By Sara Dickinson BRONZE, Wyckoff, New Jersey
Sara Dickinson BRONZE, Wyckoff, New Jersey
2 articles 3 photos 3 comments

In kindergarten, my class was asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Crayons danced across sheets of ­paper to illustrate our dream occupations. Our drawings were hung in the hallway for our parents to see at Back to School Night. I remember looking down the line and seeing pictures of ballerinas dancing, firefighters putting out a blaze, and astronauts leaping across the moon – careers that were seen as typical dreams of five-year-olds.

My picture showed a stick figure with brown hair holding a carton of orange juice over a large rectangle that was supposed to be a counter. Underneath was my barely legible handwriting: “When I grow up, I want to work at the Market Basket because it would be fun to swipe orange juice across the scanner.” To this day my parents won’t let me forget that out of everything I could have aspired to be, my five-year-old self wished to work at the local grocery store.

When we are young, questions of what we want to be when we grow up are common. Yet we are not expected to respond with an answer that is likely to come true. However, when we become teens, we are asked the very same question twice as often. The difference is, now we are supposed to ­answer with confidence.

Teens are expected to know exactly what we want to be and how we are going to achieve that goal. Not all of us can be so sure. Even though I am in high school, I ­cannot answer convincingly. But I don’t ­consider that a bad thing. How am I supposed to know what I will want to spend my time doing at age 40?

When I think about the future, I definitely don’t see myself working at the Market ­Basket, but in reality, if that was what would make me happy, I would do it. So, the next time someone asks me what I want to be when I grow up, I will simply say “happy.”

Happiness is a destination for everyone. We may want to walk different paths in life, but we all want to be happy wherever we end up. Choose your path, but don’t worry too much about choosing wisely. Make a ­mistake or two and try new things. But ­always remember, if you’re not happy, you’re not at the end of your journey yet.



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This article has 207 comments.


on Apr. 11 2011 at 5:47 pm
sweet_silent_surenity GOLD, Puyallup, Washington
16 articles 0 photos 52 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved- loved for ourselves or rather, loved in spite of ourselves." -Victor Hugo-

I never changed my asperation to be a teacer. Now I wonder, often in fact, if that's really what I want to be... or if I just keep holding onto that dream. I never really know.

on Apr. 7 2011 at 6:00 pm
ohmakemeover BRONZE, Centerville, Minnesota
3 articles 0 photos 98 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Touch comes before sight, before speech. It is the first language and the last, and it always tells the truth."- Margaret Atwood

Oh god, when I was in kindergarten, I wanted to "type all day like momy and do reports".  Us crazy kids.  Really an inspiring little piece!

lexy123 said...
on Mar. 21 2011 at 4:21 pm
I wanted to be a ballerina ha ha I was super girly ha ha but I still am

on Mar. 17 2011 at 8:39 pm
Authorgal98 GOLD, Frankort, Illinois
17 articles 0 photos 194 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Let your mind sart a journey through a strange new world..."

Haha I'm cracking up! *I evolved...* rolf!

on Feb. 10 2011 at 8:03 pm
redpanda26 SILVER, Chevy Chase, Maryland
5 articles 5 photos 51 comments
I wanted to be a trapezist :)

on Feb. 10 2011 at 5:29 pm
Hawthorn BRONZE, Nowheresville, Maine
3 articles 0 photos 55 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Know Thy Enemy" Sun Tzu

N.A.S.A? Cool! I want to be either an astronaut or a writer. Or both.

on Feb. 4 2011 at 6:21 pm
Maddyandsnoopy GOLD, Rocklin, California
10 articles 18 photos 17 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

When I was little, I wanted to be a bus driver!

Ladybug_94 said...
on Feb. 3 2011 at 9:27 am
i agree to  this article, its a great thing to be happy, even though most teens dont know what they want to be, they should at least want to be happy in the career or job they chose.

USCG13 BRONZE said...
on Jan. 11 2011 at 9:13 pm
USCG13 BRONZE, Los Alamos, New Mexico
2 articles 0 photos 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
"their like lil' sponges"!!!!

carots are better hahahaha:D

Fire_Ice said...
on Jan. 9 2011 at 10:05 pm

So true!

I loved the part about the grocery clerk!

I guess we all wanted to be something odd as a child. When I was in Kindergarden I drew my self with Bushy brown hair, large front teeth and a wand with a caption that said, I want to be Hermione Granger.


deathward22 said...
on Jan. 8 2011 at 8:21 pm
deathward22, Los Alamos, New Mexico
0 articles 0 photos 42 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first." mark twain

you know it :)

M. said...
on Jan. 7 2011 at 8:06 pm
POTATO HATERS!

deathward22 said...
on Dec. 18 2010 at 8:16 pm
deathward22, Los Alamos, New Mexico
0 articles 0 photos 42 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first." mark twain

turnips suck. oranges are where its at

USCG13 BRONZE said...
on Dec. 18 2010 at 8:14 pm
USCG13 BRONZE, Los Alamos, New Mexico
2 articles 0 photos 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
"their like lil' sponges"!!!!

in kinder they asked what you wanted to be when you grow up.. half of us said a popstar or a super hero! i said i wanted to be a turnip!

in mid school they asked again half of us said i wanna be pres or a millionaire! i still wanted to be a turnip!

in high school right b4 we graduate they ask again.... people said they wanted to be a marine  or a doctor.... i evolved. i wanted to be a carrot :3

 

get over it!!!!


on Nov. 30 2010 at 9:42 pm
Jakethesnake BRONZE, Hernando, Mississippi
1 article 0 photos 96 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Read, Read... Read everything, then write."-William Faulkner

Oh, btw, The end of the journey is not being happy- it is death. And what do we do all our lives? Try to be happy. Any person who is happy has achieved the  ultimate goal of this journey. Death is the end, whether you have reached that goal or not.

on Nov. 30 2010 at 9:40 pm
Jakethesnake BRONZE, Hernando, Mississippi
1 article 0 photos 96 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Read, Read... Read everything, then write."-William Faulkner

Thank GOD someone has said this. haha Amazing what random writers can do.

on Oct. 27 2010 at 3:51 pm
this is great! you have a great take on life!

on Oct. 27 2010 at 3:49 pm
This is soooooooooooo good! and also i agree!

on Oct. 27 2010 at 3:47 pm
This is amazing aand you 're an excellent writer! And you are so right! Why tie yourself down with one career when you could experiment with a lot of fun ones instead?!

VincentD2997 said...
on Oct. 27 2010 at 11:12 am
VincentD2997, Parkesburge, Pennsylvania
0 articles 0 photos 9 comments

Favorite Quote:
almost only counts in horse shoes and hand granades

I agree with you completly. If you are not happy in life then you are not done yet and you still have alot to do in your life. great job on the wrighting. don't give up your attitude twords this subject