flashback
the previous post got me thinking about an afternoon i spent in the spring of last year, watching little kids play in the central park zoo. goldman sachs was holding a family day with cotton candy, free admission, and a performing clown with a guitar who had captivated a group of children, ages 3-10. after singing a song about jumping (which had the crowd of small humans hopping up and down), he launched into a soulful tale about a sad horse. Then, he rallied the troops and told them that they needed to help him out with his next piece, entitled: "what i want to be when i grow up." the kids nervously lined up in a row, and each time the clown crooned "when i grow up i want to be a...." each would step up and proudly/shyly/excitedly shout/state/whisper their life dream. one girl wanted to be a doctor. another aspired to be a cowboy. a superman. a cop. one especially confident girl wanted to be a singer, and her little brother, who clearly idolized her, also wanted to be a singer. when she changed her mind and said she wanted to be a dancer, he made sure to step forward and state that he too wanted to be lord of the dance.
then one precocious little kid, obviously prompted by his parents who, i observed, had nudged him into the line, announced, in a somewhat confused voice: "i want to be a chemical engineer."
the little dancer-girl asked: "what's a chemical engineer?"
the clown, after a millisecond of perplexed silence, said: "okay, that's great!"
and the little boy's parents gazed upon the moment proudly thinking, i'm sure, that their little boy had the best dream of the whole bunch.
meanwhile i stood there, just beyond the gates of the zoo, holding myself back from screaming: "no you don't. you want to be secret agent or a sheriff or a fireman. admit it! you don't even know what a chemical engineer is" (yes, i really had a desperate urge to heckle a 7 year old).
parents like that really sadden me... when i was growing up my list of aspirations varied, from wanting to be a secret agent/spy/writer from 4th to 6th grade, to an astronaut from 7th to 8th grade, to an architect all through high school. i wanted to be those things because of some allure/excitement/fascination and not because of stability/income/dental plan. isn't part of being a kid that you don't have to think about practical shizz like that? and what good is a dream if it isn't at least a little bit redonkulous?
the love of my life, my cousin, bianca, wants to be a cheerleading princess when she grows up, and i'll be damned before i discourage her from that dream.
then one precocious little kid, obviously prompted by his parents who, i observed, had nudged him into the line, announced, in a somewhat confused voice: "i want to be a chemical engineer."
the little dancer-girl asked: "what's a chemical engineer?"
the clown, after a millisecond of perplexed silence, said: "okay, that's great!"
and the little boy's parents gazed upon the moment proudly thinking, i'm sure, that their little boy had the best dream of the whole bunch.
meanwhile i stood there, just beyond the gates of the zoo, holding myself back from screaming: "no you don't. you want to be secret agent or a sheriff or a fireman. admit it! you don't even know what a chemical engineer is" (yes, i really had a desperate urge to heckle a 7 year old).
parents like that really sadden me... when i was growing up my list of aspirations varied, from wanting to be a secret agent/spy/writer from 4th to 6th grade, to an astronaut from 7th to 8th grade, to an architect all through high school. i wanted to be those things because of some allure/excitement/fascination and not because of stability/income/dental plan. isn't part of being a kid that you don't have to think about practical shizz like that? and what good is a dream if it isn't at least a little bit redonkulous?
the love of my life, my cousin, bianca, wants to be a cheerleading princess when she grows up, and i'll be damned before i discourage her from that dream.
posted by cheeky monkey at 3:58 PM
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