At twenty-five, realization hit: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” is existential trap. It assumes identity as terminal destination where we ‘arrive’ and become static.

Childhood’s binary world offered simple answers: doctor, engineer, astronaut. But human identity is fundamentally fluid. I’m simultaneously writer and dreamer, son and skeptic. Identity isn’t noun—it’s continuous verb.

Industrial age career models are obsolete. Linear progression—education, job, retirement—crumbles. Modern reality: portfolio careers, lateral moves, complete reinvention. “What do you want to be?” assumes stasis in dynamic world.

Deeper philosophical shift: childhood’s teleological thinking evolves into adult processual thinking. Children want destinations; adults appreciate journey. Identity formation continues eternally, never completes.

Perhaps most profound recognition: growing up doesn’t mean discovering final answers, but realizing question’s irrelevance. Maturity transitions from becoming to being—abandoning fixed identity pursuit for fluid existence embrace.

Most liberating truth: I’m not completed project but ongoing experiment. Daily, I create different versions of myself.