What do you want to be when you grow up?
On how everybody around you seems to know exactly what they want from life, but you still can't figure it out...
This is how my story goes:
Part 1
"What do you want to be when you grow up?", asked the crooked-nosed aunt her unsuspecting 8 year old victim - sorry - niece.
The question took Elizabeth, or as she preferred it "Eli" (no non-English native-speaker would ever be able to pronounce "Beth-TH". She tried and "Bef" or "Bet" were the best she got out of them. "Eli" by contrast was short and sweet. And to the point - just as she liked it), by surprise.
"Think, Eli, think", was the only thing going through her head, "surely you know the answer to this one by now?!"
"Oh, that's easy", answered her Little-Miss-Know-It-All younger sister, Alexandra (or Alex for convenience, and let's face it, she was the tomboy in the family), aged 6.
"I want to be a Mummy".
Even the youngest sister, Isabelle ("Isa", 'cause she didn't want to make it too obvious that she was the "Belle" of the family...), knew the answer to that question by the time she reached the age of reason. "I want to be a Mercardess", she informed everybody with full conviction. Which in 7-year-old-girl-speak means a stewardess, who drives a Mercedes-Benz... Yes, the youngest sister always had a thing for lavish cars. But Eli, the oldest, wisest, most responsible, most reliable one out of the Three Musketeers, the Three Charlie's Angels, the Three Sisters never truly had an answer for THAT question. She never wanted to be a princess (how ghastly!), nor a doctor (just the sight of blood made her faint), nor a vet (WAY too allergic to animals) - so what other options were there...? Or better still, did she have to be only one thing her entire life?
She had a plan though, to figure it out.
All she needed to do was:
a) finish Primary School (6 more years to go)
b) finish High School (an additional 4 years)
c) finish University (5 years on top of that)
...and "Hey-Presto"!
It is then that enlightenment shall be bestowed upon her and she will know precisely what she shall be doing for the rest of her life. It's that simple.
Plus, there is another 15 years of formal education - Ha! That day will never come!
Surely enough time was passing but the answer wasn't getting any clearer.
