"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

The question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" is such an unfair question.  It doesn't mean that other people (myself included) won't ask it of you, but I just want to acknowledge up front how daunting the question can be for so many different reasons.

1. You are in high school.  You're still trying to figure yourself out let along what you want to do for the rest of your life.

2. You only know what you have been exposed to in your 14-18 years of life.  How would you know if you might love anthropology or ecology or philosophy if you haven't had a chance to learn anything about it yet.  There is so much to learn in front of you!

3. The careers you might end up selecting and pursuing may not even exist yet.  With the way that AI has stormed into our lives, it is hard to imagine what all of the future technological changes will look like and how you, as a future adult in the working world, might be in careers that are new and evolving.

So why do we even both asking what you want to be?  Well, part of it is likely an excitement over the future of the possibilities in front of you.  Adults may be curious to see and hear what you are interested in and what excites you as options for the future.  They also likely know that your future plans will change over time, but just having an idea of where your passions are currently is fun for those who care about you. 

If you find yourself surrounded by extended family over the holidays and they start asking what you want to be when you grow up, you can share whatever you are currently thinking.  You can tell them that you aren't sure, but are excited to start dreaming about and exploring all of the opportunities ahead of you.  Or you can flip the tables on them!  (Which is one of my favorite suggestions.)

If you are flipping the tables on them you can start asking them about THEIR career path, what they wanted to be when they were in high school, what they studied, what their first job was, how they transitions to various jobs or additional responsibilities over time, what they like about their job, etc.  This is often nice for students because the pressure is taken off of you and the feeling that you need to have your whole life planned out.

But you can use your extended family members for potential contacts.  If you know that you are interested in pursuing a career in a particular field you can share that information and then ask your family if they know anyone who works in a similar job.  This can be incredibly valuable information because oftentimes students can benefit by talking to someone in their desired jobs or shadowing for a day.  If your family members know of someone who works in a job that you're considering for their future, ask if they would help connect you with that person.  Often your aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, or family friends are thrilled to be able to be a resource to help support you on the way towards your future path.  Plus, even if they don't know of anyone off the top of their head, you never know who they might meet or come in contact with that could connect you in the future.