When I Grow Up…

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

That's a common question that we seem to get asked ALL the time as children. When we're young, we tend to have grandiose, fantastical goals, like growing up to be a mermaid or a princess or superhero. However, as we get older and "wiser" and "smarter", we realize that those childhood dreams, though fun, were realistically unattainable. We then choose a path that's well-defined, "doable", and will give us a return on investment (tl;dr: we do things that make us money).

When I was younger, I always answered by saying, “I want to be an actress.” I want to make people feel happy, much like my idol Shirley Temple. I put every fiber of my being into growing up be an actress from as early as I can remember. And I did it! I was an actress when I grew up!

Now that I'm older, retired, and more tired, I find myself in a strange place. I feel like I’m starting over in the life-goal setting department. I’m constantly reflecting on what I want to be when I gr…