What do I want to be when I grow up?

Question: What did you want to be when you grew up?

I always wanted to be a mom. I couldn't think of a better occupation to be. Someone to take care of the kids, to make dinner and sew costumes. Seriously that is what I wanted to be.

In high school they wanted us to discuss with our counsellors what we wanted to be. I stated I wanted to be a psychiatrist. I had read a book about them and thought they were fascinating in that they could decifer why people did what they did. That is what I wanted to be. My school counsellor actually called my mom in for a discussion. He felt that I was being unrealistic in my goals. Unbelievable.

What made the discussion worse is at the end, he stated I should strive to be a nurse. That was a good profession for a girl. Not being a doctor.

To add insult to injury, my mom stated I should take business classes because the best I would ever be was a secretary. A secretary! How dare here. I had much more lofty goals. Lo and behold, what was one of the jobs I held? A secretary. I was also a teacher's aide, an assistant to an elected official, an assistant Clerk/Recorder who managed the office, a Business Services Officer for a Probation Department in charge of a multi-million dollar budget and finally and quilt store owner. See I could have been a psychiatrist if I had not been discouraged.

No one should tell someone else they cannot be something they want to be. They should encourage them to strive for their goals. If they fall short, that is something they have to deal with. But don't discourage them.