Weekly Prompt #22

I Didn’t Know What I Wanted To Be When I Grew Up

Sometimes, brains and talent can get in the way

One of my high school graduation pics, 1989: Photo Property of the Author

What do you want to be when you grow up?

It’s a seemingly benign question that we ask kids all the time. We ask teeny tiny preschoolers and teenagers in high school. I’ve even asked my children.

But is it really a fair question? Can a 17-year-old, whose brain hasn’t even stopped growing be reasonably expected to choose what they’re going to devote the next 45 years of their life to?

Why am I thinking about this now? My kids are all grown men. And I’m about as grown up as I’m going to get, maybe. So why am I writing about this?

Well, a prompt of course. Nancy Blackman, MASF’s prompt in Refresh the Soul asks writers to discuss what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Writing Prompt #22

Just reading it brought a lot of feelings to the surface, feelings I thought had disappeared ages ago. Feelings of anxiety, fear, shame, and confusion…