When I Grow Up

     Everyone spends time as an adolescent wondering what they're going to be when they grow up. For many of us they are the same things. When I was 12 I was convinced I wanted to be an astronaut more than anything in the whole world. I wanted to explore outer space and experience weightlessness. I even had a poster of Chris Hadfield in my room, a Canadian astronaut.

    Then I found out that you needed to have perfect vision. I just got my first pair of glasses. I felt completely heartbroken. I wanted to be an astronaut. What else could I do? Then I started to think. If I can't be an astronaut, what can I be? I thought I wanted to be Prime Minister of Canada. Someone who could make changes in my country for the better. My new hero became Lester B. Pearson. Not only was he Prime Minister, he had also been a diplomat. I started to think about the possibilities. I could go to law school, become a diplomat and then later, Prime Minister. I had big plans.

    So I went to university and studied an undergraduate degree. I slowly realized that I might not want to go to law school after all. I graduated and thought, what now? What do I do with my life now?

    Then I came to an answer. I wanted to be writer. I've been writing my whole life. Everything from poetry to short stories to essays. I've written more than my share of essays. Now I want to write something bigger. I want to write a book.

    For the past while that's exactly what I've been doing. I've been writing pages and pages of a book. Someday I hope to get my finished book published.

    I think when we're young we follow our passions, wherever they lie. Sometimes our dreams change but that doesn't mean that our passion has to leave.