What do you want to be when you grow up?

It’s a question that people used to ask all the time when we were kids. Whether it was our teachers, parents, or extended family. Hell, sometimes even total strangers asked me when I was a kid.

Some people always have clear aspirations that they mostly are able to hold on to even into adulthood. But others, like me, never really ever knew.

Of course, I always had to choose something because apparently not answering the question was considered rude. I don’t remember exactly what I wanted when I was a kid. If you asked me now, I’d probably say that I’d love to be in/write/direct a horror movie. Or that I’d want to be a full-time write and editor. And both of then are true. Those are things I want to do.

Of course, the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” is not something one typically asks an adult. Most human brains finish developing when the person is in their mid-to-late twenties. So, around that age, does the question even apply to people that are fresh out of college?

Well, in my opinion, the question still applies. It’s just not asked with the same wording anymore. No, the sentence is more professional. More refined. And you usually hear it during a job interview or the like. “Where do you see yourself in five years?”

The future is a fucking scary thing. (Especially after a certain turn of events that came around last week. Thanks again, America.) You never know what is going to happen tomorrow, much less five years in the future. But the question isn’t really all that bad.

I was asked this question on Wednesday the 13th by one of my coworkers. We were hanging out (Me, her, and her girlfriend) by the lake and just chatting. I never really know what to say to questions like that, but I remember saying “I’d love to get involved in filmmaking by that point.”

It was a spur of the moment answer, but somehow this time it was so easy to answer. I told them about a short film idea I had that I have been trying to figure out. Like do I write it as a short story, then a script? Or vice-versa. (It’s a zombie story about a zombie bite victim slowly being turned by the virus.)

My quick answer kind of surprised me. Not because it’s not the truth, because I have been thinking about it and I can’t seem to find any reason that I don’t want to work in film. I still want to write and edit, because I excel at that. But I don’t know how long it will be before I write another project like Phantom Janitor. Or write enough stories to make another collection. And baking as a small business may not be a very solid idea yet.

Making scripts and passion projects and learning more about the film industry could be a fun endeavor to possibly chase.

Of course, the question is always a hypothetical. No one is going to revisit you in five years to see if you are what you said you would be. There’s a chance that I may be doing something completely different with my life by then. Hell, maybe I’ll be a podcast chee! (Jeez. That would be a dramatic twist.)

Anyway, yeah. That’s what I have been thinking about today. How would you answer these questions? Are there other variations that you’ve heard?