When I Grow Up

When I grow up I will be...

As a child, how did you finish this phrase?  I bet you had amazing, creative options of what you would be when adulthood finally graced you, many years in the future.  Did you hope to be a Butterfly Doctor (my munchkin’s choice for quite sometime), or a cowboy? I admire folks who live their dreams. The people who said when I grow up I will be an astronaut and decades later they became one. Seriously, how cool is that!  

What are you doing now? Did your childhood dreams become your reality? Take a moment to stop and reflect on the ambitions of your younger self. When going through the list of adventures that you once held dear, which ones did you fulfill?  If your answer is none, there is no reason to be down. Your desires as a child undoubtedly transformed the older you became. But take a deeper look into what you wanted to be and the person that you are right now. While you might feel that your current career is in a direct conflict with the spirit of the younger you, how far off course are you really? I will start.  Below I have written down the choices of who I wanted to be when I grew up. I wonder how disappointed young Giselle would feel as I have not become who she wanted me to be.  Yet, if she and I could meet, I would tell her that it’s ok.  I am happy with how my journey has unfolded. I would also let her in on a little secret. With the exception of a few names on the list, I am the embodiment of those childhood dreams.      

Giselle’s list

When I grow up I will be:

• An actress
• A comedian
• A screen writer
• A director
• A novelist
• A runner (short distance 100 meters or relays)
• A teacher
• A journalist
• A reporter
• An archeologist (those who know me well are laughing really hard at this one)
• A talk show host
• A ballerina
• A dancer
• A professor
• A lawyer

Now it is your turn.  When you grow up you will be….