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Home > Points of View > When I Grow Up

When I Grow Up This piece has been published in Teen Ink's monthly print magazine.

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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
Photo credit: Molly F., Mclaren Flat, Australia
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.
This piece has been published in Teen Ink's monthly print magazine.This piece has also been published in Teen Ink's monthly print magazine.

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This article has 57 comments. Post your own!

Prichino C. said...
Mar. 10 at 9:31 am:

ITS SORT OF RIGHT IN SOME WAY. WHEN WE ARE YOUNGER OF COURSE WE ARE CONFUSED OF LIFE, WE STILL HAVEN'T LIVED ENOUGH TO KNOW WHAT WE WANT OR WHAT REALLY MAKES US HAPPY. AS WE LIVE EXPERIENCES WE LEARN TO KNOW OURSELVES BETTER. ALTHOUGH BUT THE TIME YOU GET TO YOUR JUNIOR YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL YOU SHOULD FOR SURE KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO BE. OF COURSE FOR THIS TO HAPPEN YOU NEED TO KNOW YOURSELF AND KNOW WHAT YOUR GOOD AT AND WHAT YOUR NOT GOOD AT. THERE IS A LOT OF RESEARCH ALSO THAT YOU MIGHT W... (more »)

 
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slightlymad said...
Feb. 9 at 8:26 pm:

That is, if you grow up.

 
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kikid94 said...
Feb. 6 at 5:14 pm:

This is really good! I love it :)

 
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fiftiesgal467 said...
Jan. 24 at 6:44 pm:

Wow, very insightful and incredibly true!

 
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Dominica said...
Dec. 23, 2009 at 8:50 am:

I totally agree. I mean, I'm a senior about to head off to college and I still have no clue as to what I'm going to decide to be, I have a few ideas, but they haven't been narrowed down to just one as of yet.

 
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vampzRfriendz said...
Dec. 22, 2009 at 5:56 pm:

i agree,im 16 and even though i have a pretty good idea of what i want to be the question is how? how am i going to be this? everythings so hard in our teen years,they are our toughest years and we are expected to know exactly what we want and go for it. Our parents just dont understand that the pressure we go through these days are worse than they did its totally different

 
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yelsse<3 said...
Dec. 20, 2009 at 10:59 pm:

Nice very nice!(:

 
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Nuwanda said...
Dec. 13, 2009 at 3:20 pm:

I agree with you on this. I'm a 10th grader in high school and personally I have no clue what I want to be...sometime that drives my dad crazy every time he askes...but I'm 16 years old, things change, why should I worry about something that is going to change in a few years anyway.
Getting back to the point, I think you did a job of capturing a sitation a lot of teens find themselves in. :)

 
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Ellie_Michelle said...
Dec. 13, 2009 at 12:49 am:

That was a great article and it was very encouraging to know I'm not the only one who doesn't know what they want to be when they grow up!

 
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Meljac12 said...
Dec. 6, 2009 at 2:53 pm:

I sincerely hope you continue writing from the heart. This was very well written and relatable. You should be very proud of yourself. Thank you for writing this and who knows, maybe you have a career in writing. Hope to see your work published in the future.

 
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emjay1216 said...
Nov. 6, 2009 at 2:52 pm:

im crying now, ok? that was beautifully written. i want to be a juvenille defense attorney. but i never thought about just being happy.
thanks so much. i needed that

 
KonyaB!!! replied...
Nov. 13, 2009 at 4:24 pm :

That really is the main thing everyone's worried about...what kind of a job you have and what you make. They think that the choices you make determines whether you are a smart, or dumb or not. They don't ever think that the choices are based on the happiness of that person.
Really good essay! More people should read it, and it has a strong and powerful messge in it...happiness.

 
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Kristen H. said...
Aug. 18, 2009 at 4:16 pm:

Actually, I just figured out what i want to be - an electrical engineer. Here I come, NASA!

 
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hannah=(= said...
Aug. 2, 2009 at 2:14 am:

There are just so many cool jobs out there. I can't pick only one to do for the rest of my life.

 
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MangoMadness said...
Jul. 31, 2009 at 7:59 pm:

I'm the opposite, sorta. When I was in preschool, up until about 4th grade, I had no clue what to be. I liked animals, so peole told me I should be a vet. But I had this thing about cutting up animals, or anything that helped them because it made me sad. I didn't know about as many jobs then as now. In fourth grade, when I started trying to write a kid story, I decided I wanted to be an author. I haven't changed my mind, but I've had ideas for others things I could do as well. Thank... (more »)

 
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MszRAiNDROPsz said...
Jul. 24, 2009 at 2:55 am:

i srsly dont knw wht i wnt to be either, nd ppl just expect u to knw frm an early age. this is so true

 
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CSHLo said...
Jul. 23, 2009 at 8:09 pm:

I love the line:
"Happiness is a destination for everyone"

Well written.

 
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His-Bright-Green-Eyes... said...
Jul. 21, 2009 at 8:19 pm:

excelent!!

 
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Casey L. said...
Jul. 20, 2009 at 3:30 pm:

Nice job!
This is something we can all relate to :-)

 
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Ikutorocks12 said...
Jul. 6, 2009 at 6:57 pm:

This is very good, and interesting. Right now someone I know is applying to university, so it got me thinking on my 'dream job'. But to be honest I have absolutely no idea! School is putting so much pressure on at the moment, and so I think focusing on being happy seems to be the best bet.

 
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individualJess said...
Jun. 23, 2009 at 8:28 pm:

I seemed to have read this at the perfect time, since grade 4 i have been certain of what i wanted to be when I grow up, however now i find myself questioning it, aswell as what I want out of life. i now totally agree with you. achieving happiness should be our offivial goal.I am filled with peace and confidence at the prospect of my future

 
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Mona S. said...
Jun. 22, 2009 at 6:13 pm:

I LIKE IT:) IT IS COOL!

 
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Valkyrie_123 said...
Jun. 22, 2009 at 6:53 am:

this is so good!!!!

 
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brookiemonsterx said...
Jun. 13, 2009 at 3:08 am:

I completely agree. Excellent!

 
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Wise_Idiot said...
Jun. 10, 2009 at 1:17 am:

I agree.

By the way, there are these neat Self Checkout thingies at Wal-Mart, and you can swipe your own stuff. I've spent hours there. :D

 
fandangopink replied...
Oct. 12, 2009 at 8:26 pm :

Haha... I know! They're everywhere now. I feel like a true professional. = D

 
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xXkittygrrxX said...
Jun. 8, 2009 at 6:58 pm:

Only the future can tell when u get their u get their opioions so change

 
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chas said...
Jun. 6, 2009 at 2:14 am:

i think you are right that opinions and what we want to be when we grow up change a lot. i also think that it is important to chose a carrer that we will be happy doing. my dad teases about the degree of the day, a syndrom college kids have. keep writing, keep thinking, keep going. bye

 
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*peace* said...
May 30, 2009 at 3:49 am:

I agree with this. I don't think we will even know what we want to do when we grow up and are out on our own. Life is about taking a journey and finding your happiness, and when we find it I believe we are in the right place.

 
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Ryan M. said...
May 29, 2009 at 10:37 pm:

This was GREAT

 
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Olivea said...
May 26, 2009 at 10:16 pm:

Sara I agree compleatly. Yes we are older than we were, but in two years from now we will be older still, and two years from then, and two years from then... we will always be changing. How is a person supposed to make one choice and have it define the rest of their lives- we all make mistakes! All I really want is to be happy.

 
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Alyssa J. said...
May 17, 2009 at 8:04 pm:

I COMPLETELY AGREE! Its hard for me to go to school for fear of teachers pressuring about colleges daily. I want to be able to be a teenager without thinking about how I'm going to live my life as an adult. I'm glad I'm not alone :)

 
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DinosoarJen said...
May 17, 2009 at 4:28 pm:

I agree.
Happiness is key.

 
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Jaynellzfosho said...
May 8, 2009 at 1:54 pm:

I love this!
"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?"

I just did a poem/story of what I was planning to do when I get older in my writer's workshop class, and I couldn't think of what I re... (more »)

 
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PolitiansR4theGood14932 said...
May 7, 2009 at 9:39 pm:

I completely agree

 
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oswaldaJane said...
May 5, 2009 at 9:16 pm:

This article is so true!Now that I'm a in 10 grade,people consantly ask this question.However when I say I don't know it is alawys a shock. Nice to see someone understand!

 
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Redsoxrule12 said...
May 3, 2009 at 12:11 pm:

Oh my Gosh! that was so amazing! the points you brought out were true and inspirational!

 
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Kaylee_big_sis_of_3 said...
May 3, 2009 at 1:35 am:

This is so inspiring and I totally agree with you. Keep writing!!!!

 
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andrea said...
May 1, 2009 at 10:44 pm:

Great for you Sara,this is a wonderful thing you wrote,is good to know that HAPPINESS,is where we will find more success in life..love to see you in a blog

 
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Meghan said...
May 1, 2009 at 1:18 am:

I agree. There is a lot of pressure but some of us know hat we want to do until we are 50! I know I want to be a lawyer. I think the real question is how are we going to get to where we want to be?

 
Lostinbooks replied...
Oct. 30, 2009 at 11:21 pm :

Yes! It's like, you kind of know what you want to do, but how? Goals seem so far away.

 
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Sarah-Lou said...
May 1, 2009 at 12:44 am:

Well done! I think you're right; we shouldn't be pressured into making a decision so young. You never know how different you may feel in the future and you don't want to make a bad choice. To pick a career, you have to think carefully about every aspect of the job, where you are in life now, and where you want to be, then its all up to you to make your dream of "happiness" come true. I think you nicely illustrated this: nice article.

 
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MimiRocks96 said...
May 1, 2009 at 12:30 am:

I really like ur story and it is very intresting i love ur ideas!!

 
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sarafan2 said...
Apr. 30, 2009 at 11:14 pm:

wow sara, this is so amazing! you completely encompass how i've been feeling for awhile now. your words inspire me.. actually, when i grow up.. i think i wanna be you.

 
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angiegirl said...
Apr. 30, 2009 at 4:55 pm:

Hi,its amazing to see a young girl to see life in such a wat,i have teenagers at home and makesme proud to see that young teens can be so tougtful.Good luck with whatever you chosse to do in life,be happy.

 
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peepeeface(: said...
Apr. 30, 2009 at 1:30 pm:

hey, i think this is very VERY good !

 
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peepeeface(: said...
Apr. 30, 2009 at 1:29 pm:

haha, i wanted to be the same thing too

 
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GunterPee said...
Apr. 30, 2009 at 1:07 pm:

This is so wonderful, and true. I've always felt the same way, just never knew how to put it in words. Thanks! props to you my friend :)
P.S. I think you might have a future in writting!

 
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Aunt D said...
Apr. 30, 2009 at 11:21 am:

Now here is a young woman who knows what is important. "Be Happy" and your life path will always feel right.

 
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Corine Fisher said...
Apr. 30, 2009 at 3:39 am:

wow what a talented writer... im in a similar situation ..my best friend is in between two colleges one will make her happy and the other will make her successful. I wish she would read this and make the right choice and be happy

 
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