When shall I marry?
This year, next year, sometime, never.
What will my husband be?
Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich-man, poor-man, beggar-man, thief.
What will I be?
Lady, baby, gypsy, queen…

When you’re little it’s easy to say ‘When I Grow Up’. Growing Up is one of those things that only happens on the far side of Neverland and Grown-ups are mystical beings who ride the winds and command the lightning (or at least the bedtimes).

But after a while people stop asking you what you’re going to be and start making noises about what you aren’t. ‘What Do You Want to Be?’ turns into ‘What Have You Done With Your Life?’ and the question isn’t fun anymore.

Well phooey on them! Never stop looking forward– what you are and what you can be isn’t something you’re supposed to ever stop dreaming about.

Sure, some dreams have time limits on them, but most of life is pretty open ended. There is no age limit on going to medical school or getting a law degree. There’s no expiration date on learning German or how to tango. You can fall in love at sixty just as easily as you can at sixteen, and thanks to the internet a single voice is louder than it’s ever been before.

So don’t give up because your life doesn’t sync up with some arbitrary timeline. Life lasts as long as it lasts and you don’t have to stop choosing new things to be or new ways to be the same thing.

What do you want to be when you grow up?