“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
As children, this is the most popular question many ask us. When we were children, the possibilities were endless. The same, though, cannot be said to those growing up because we have to face two very tempting and influential factors: fame and money.
It is a shame, yet incontrovertible that fame and money are the motivations by which most live their lives. Those same people will say they do it because they want to, because it makes them happy, or something else that still makes them look like decent human beings.
Face it, a kid does not grow up wanting a boring job, but if that boring job makes a lot of money, that kid will grow up with that occupation. As John Green said, “Every moment of your life is lived for the future – you go to high school so you can go to college so you can get a good job so you can get a nice house so you can afford to send your kids to college so they can get a good job so they can get a nice house so they can afford to send their kids to college.”
Many spend most of their lives making a living; they take comfort and security within themselves and the property that they own. Some people give up on their dreams in fear that it achieving them would be difficult.
I am an artist and my heart calls for media and literature. Trust me when I say that I have heard every single warning against going towards what I want. “There is no money in writing.” “The Philippines is the second most dangerous country in the world for journalists (according to livescience.com), do you want to die?”
My father graduated as a Chemical Engineer. My mother took units in Economics and Marketing. My older brother is a Radiologist; my sister-in-law is a doctor, and my older sister is a registered nurse. In a family filled with technical experts, one would only wonder where I came from, because I like to write.
I would like to think that I would have excelled in other courses like Accounting, Industrial Engineering, Business Management, Political Science, or a pre-medical course even. These were the course choices people endorsed to me when I was younger; I was conditioned to want them. My relatives expected me to be a lawyer or a doctor. Imagine the shock when I told them that I was (and still am) a Communication Arts Major, and that I want to be a writer.
Why the arts? In contrast to popular belief, not everyone who takes a liberal arts degree wants to go into show business. Just because the arts do not have statistics or math does not mean that artists are any less intelligent than others. Art majors are intelligent in different ways.
Art, in all its glory, is indescribable. There are books, academic journals, articles, or other worthy sources that discuss art. A crumpled piece of trash is just a crumpled piece of trash to the common man, but in the eyes of a visual artist, it could be an abstract representation of society; and in the eyes of a literary artist, it could be a metaphor for the current state of humanity. That is the beauty of art; one thing seen is never the same in the eyes of someone else.
Expressing feelings through words, color, sculpture, or in any other way releases the constricts of the heart. Many people choose to bottle it all up because they choose to sell their desires for worldly comfort and status. Who in their right mind would choose to be a happy starving artist than a miserable successful businessperson, right?
Works from the heart bring people closer despite the many hindering worldly factors present like race, religion, age, and etc. People are linked through invisible lines of emotion strewn out by artists long gone.
The world will tell you that only a certain job and attaining a certain amount of money, or gaining a certain status will grant you happiness. You will only be beautiful if you look a certain way, you will be persecuted if you do not live in accordance to the world.
It is my goal to be an instrument of change, to speak the truth where lies have reigned. Am I going to be rich beyond all reason? Not likely. Am I going to be worldly and famous? Doubtful. But will I be happy? Yes, most definitely.
Temporary happiness can create more pain than necessary. People want things that they do not really need. People need to remember that they all have their own lives to live, and that they only get one. Are you really going to let someone tell you how to live a life that is yours? Refuse the world – you are not an object, you are worthy.
What do you want to be when you grow up? I am still asked that question every once in a while. Maybe people are hoping that I get some “common sense.” It does not make any difference, though. It is not a question of what I will be, but who.
Who am I? I am hopeful. I am Blessed. By His grace, I will stand.
