WHEN YOU GROW UP.

Innocence is what define children and to a bigger degree, all their dream and expectations of life are valid at least not to hurt their fragile little heart but mostly to keep their fire burning for which I must ask, is it morally right to lie to children? After all, hope is the fuel that keeps burning when everything turns inflammable. For all I can remember growing up in the dirt-filled outskirts of Nairobi in the little canter of Athi-river is that I was an ambitious, creative, and outgoing kid. Handsome and smart, well genetically book smart but I wasn't that fond of school, I remember hiding on my way to school and coming back later when I knew mum had left for work. Nothing motivated me like my endeavors with the boys club, we all come from humble families, and the only hot wheels we got we made from our own bare hands. We made amazing toys, from iron sheet cars, barbed wire cars, trucks, and helicopters to paperback football to constructing artificial dams, bridges, and even building with so much ease, maybe this is every boy growing up but years later I can tell a different story as I wonder where are the other boys, how's life on their side, are they too asking the same questions? Years later on the outskirts of the great rift valley in the small town of Eldoret, the same energy, creativity, and spirit still ruled me. All along I can't remember a single time I had issues with my parents about my crafty hands, it was quite evident.

My junior primary school was full of daily shifting ideas of what I wanna be when I grow up, from being an air force officer and hanging on planes doors while I shoot bad guys to never wanting to be a software engineer, crazy for I thought it was all about clothes and fashion Ware, haha. I remember when sitting for my final primary school exam all I wanted was to join a rugby dominant high school since that's all I wanted to do, yes, play rugby. Unfortunately, I ended up in a Christian school and crazy enough rugby was taboo, I only heard about rugby in newspapers and stories from functions visiting the giant rugby school like the saints. My academic voodoo kicked in for I know was under pressure from the daily talks by teachers and other life coaches, I had the potential, at least and all I wanted to be so bad was a doctor, yes, a surgical doctor specifically a neurosurgeon inspired by alumni at the school. I had the best academic life and for sure all roads were clear on me being a doctor. After my final national examination, still confident about my career path. Results were out, and I fell short of a better medical school, yes I qualified but on a self-sponsored basis or in a low-quality school. My days grew darker and for all, I can think of that's when my academic lite dimmed.

In my final year as a bachelor of information technology student at times, I don't feel like or rather hardly associate myself with. I thought to myself about the question, "what/who would you like to be when you grow up?".This question if not always asked is used to steer one into a career path or choice intentionally or forced, yes considering many cases of university graduates taking back degree papers to their parents after completion of their course which to them they never wanted to pursue (realized after years of struggling) and taking a different career path of "their choice. I tend to wonder what criteria parents take when recommending certain paths to their kids is it job market based or is it the fact that they understand the kid better or is it for approval by society? Well, it's not working and times are Changing very fast if they could realize that at least.

photo credit~summergirl Pinterest.

All institutions;religious, philosophical, or academia agree that at the end of the day it all narrows down to the individual level of concern and understanding of oneself when it comes to matters of growth. Who are you and what do you wanna be. This is a sweet question whenever presented with because everyone seems to base their judgment on intuition and beliefs that the best decision guarantees maximum smooth cruise in the sea of life for it's a decision made on personal interest, judgment and passion, and the strong belief that with passion it hardly go wrong or at least with minimum regret. With quickly advancing life and the relevance of every bit of professionalism hanging in the balance, the big question everyone asks themselves should be, " How do you wanna be when you grow up?".This is an open futuristic determining question for self-realization and preparation or awareness.No one is sure in the next 30-40years how the job market would look like, what course will be relevant to take in school and which career paths will be tamed as useless or inappropriate. Technology is a force too big to stop and Soo hard to predict its scope in the next half a century, artificial intelligence and robotics are immensely replacing the human workforce, and who knows in that period to come who will be in control, Ai or human force and to what degree will the human force be of importance of all the technical jobs are automated, machines can read emotions and make a judgment. This calls for self preparedness both mentally and career-wise. As the Great historian "Yuval Noah Harari" urges based on the great industrial revolution that took place leaving many people irrelevant, jobless, and confused that it will be very hard or will take time for people to adjust to new ways of "being functional less importance since all entities are replaced by machines. We can never go back, and the idea that you can never cheat nature Seems absurd for nature deals with adaptation and survival for the fittest as its top card.

Children and everybody need to or should be taught the importance of not what or who to be but mostly on how to be with these changing times. This includes ;

1. Resilience

2. Flexibility

3. Adaptation

4. Risk-taking

5. Ethical and moral understanding.

These are key factors that will determine daily relations and survival of every species not what career path. Each individual should be able to shift as swiftly as possible and under minimal time to stay relevant to the dynamic mode of life in this technological era. To the parents, siblings, or anyone in a position to observe and realize e capabilities of others. There is no sole set threshold for measuring success in life that validates all aspects. Of importance is to be in a field of easy preferably passion and what generally seems easier for such an individual. Education isn't a measure that everyone ought to be validated on, different people have different capabilities and for as long as they grasp Essential qualities required to remain relevant in the daily shifting domain of life, no one should stick with one thing for life but rather be flexible and willing to take any reasonable path that presents itself.