When we were younger we were quite often asked, “What are you going to be when you grow up?” Now this question has a much different meaning.

As a young child, you may look at this question with a playful manner. For example, when I was about 4-years-old, I was going to be a “baseball player, a dancer, a clown, a ‘Zorbaz’ pizza worker and a doctor.” Even though I may be super busy later on in life, people took my answer in an “aww cute, you think you are going to be all those things later in life; you have no idea that you are going to have to grow up and actually decide” way. At this point in life, questioners of the dreaded question take your answer seriously. One minute ago, it seemed as though our super tough decision was what color crayon to using, while coloring. Now we need to decide what to do later in life and where to go in life. No biggie, right?

“When I was young, I wanted to be a lot of things,” said Maestra Conover. I was going to be a journalist, a writer, a traveler, a lawyer and an archeologist. It was very stressful choosing a job when I grew up. In Mexico, when I was in high school, I had to choose what I wanted to be, before I graduated. It is very stressful choosing your senior year and there is no flexibility, you have to choose out of four fields.”

All over the world, people deal with this same dilemma. In the U.S., we are blessed with a little more flexibility. Here, we are able to change path directions when in college. This can help with the pressure of decideding. But, you better start thinking now because you need to decide what you are going to be for the rest of your life, in the next couple years. No pressure at all, honey!!