When I grow up...

"What do you want to do when you are older" the favourite question for adults to ask children from the age of 5 to 15. The answer being fireman, postman, doctor, nurse or any other job they have recently heard of at school or in books. No one knows every single job in the world by the age of 5 or  even 15, so why ask them a question they can't properly answer?!? Reason being because society expects an answer. You don't have to stick to it but you need to be shown to have paid some thought into what you could do in the future. But why? Why should we always be thinking ahead instead savouring the moments we are in right now? Yesterday's history, tomorrow's a mystery and today is a gift, that's why we call it the present. A good saying which needs to be remembered. But by the age of 15 we are expected to have grasped what profession we want to go into, and should be preparing for universtiy and planning out our career path. Should we be setting up a personal pension by this age as well?!?

Also, why is there this big expectation for every human being to go to universtiy after A levels are complete. Is it really necessary for more exams, more studying, more endless hours spent in a classroom? I can understand that for some jobs you need a degree, like really really need it. A doctor for example. But why oh why after I say I want to go into entertainment do people ask what Uni I am considering. The arts is a tricky industry to go into and you are certainly not garuanteed a job, so why put yourself into twenty seven thousand pounds of debt, just to put "degree" on a cv, that casting agents at an audition will barely glance at. It certainly doesn't add up to me...how about you? I guess you could say my argument is subjective, but here is a better cause for concern. How can you say you want to go to Uni, but you don't know what you would study. Not like, "I can't decide between engineering or accounting" but you have no clue at all what you would study. How then can you say you want to go? If it was free, then this is just about acceptable, but you are forfeiting TWENTY SEVEN THOUSAND POUNDS for an "experience", when really you should be looking at the bigger picture and about whether a three year course will actually get you a job or not. And see this is really what is so bad about "what do you want to do when you are older". It sparks of thoughts which aren't thinkable, it encourages stupidity rather than capability.

So really, like Jack Howard said in a YouTube video a few months ago, "ask children what they like to do, rather than what they want to do". This will gain more rational answers, leading to more rational decisions. I mean, does a five year old really comprehend the work involved in becoming a doctor? Maybe gently tell them it's at least a five year course and see if they change their answer!

Another ranting style of post, but hopefully you agree with some of my thoughts.

xxxx