Most young children aspire to become a variety of things, ranging from a garbage man, to a lawyer, to a movie star. But few hold onto these dreams when they get older.
Some people claim they become more practical about their ambitions. Freshman Meghana Gadiraju says, “When I was younger I was like, ‘When I grow up I wanna be famous and pretty and make tons of money so I can be rich and popular.’ But I wasn’t thinking on a broader scale. Now I see so many opportunities that are more realistic.”
Many kids tend to change their plans about their future from year to year. Freshman Carolin Jia says, “I never had a stable [idea] of what I wanted to be. In kindergarten I wanted to be a doctor, [in] first grade [a] teacher, [in] second grade [a] scientist. And then after, I didn’t know what I wanted to be. It was always changing.”
Exposure and inspiration tend to guide impressionable children into a seemingly appealing career. Gadiraju adds, “When I was little, I wanted to be an air hostess because I would always go to India, and they were always so nice. It seemed like their job was to travel the world, and I really wanted to do that. They influenced me by [seeming] perfect.”
Senior Nathan Perisic plans on becoming a marine biologist after college. He says, “[A shark] attack sparked my interest into what lives in our oceans and I discovered it through work in marine biology.”
Additionally, culture and family can have an impact on where kids want to take their lives. Jia says, “My mom made me watch a whole bunch of Chinese shows, and [with] the Chinese idea of money, they always used the doctor as the ideal person who has money. Also the lawyers.”
Senior Chris Ho offers a different perspective about dreams, hopes, and desires.
Ho says, “I think around sophomore year I decided I wanted to become a doctor. And as a kid I always thought getting into a good college and getting a good, high-paying job was what I wanted. But sophomore year was when I started … thinking about who I was, what was important to me, and what I wanted to do with my life.”
Everyone goes through life hoping for different desires to be fulfilled. Senior Lizzie Yen says, “In middle school [I wanted to be] an artist, but in high school I’ve gone back and forth between wanting to be a marine biologist and a sports journalist or a musician … I quickly left [those] behind and realized that I honestly didn’t have much talent in [those areas] … I currently want to study marine biology in college and hopefully get a career in that field.”
Motivations vary from person to person, and in high school, few have a sure-fire career plan they intend to execute. Gadiraju says, “Now I want to do something that helps others because that makes me happy.”
Yen adds, “I just want to do something that will make me happy. And I want money.”
