The Alchemy of Life

Remember when you were a kid? You know what I mean, a little kid- the kind of kid where the number one asked question by adults was always, "what do you want to be when you grow up?"

I wanted to be an alchemist. Turns out the demand for that job tapered a few hundred years back and instead I was left to wander the sea of potential jobs myself.

It seems that, with age, your diversity and sophistication of job titles becomes greater. What was once a "ballerina" or "firefighter" becomes a "performing arts major" or "pyrotechnician for Disney."

What do I want to be now that alchemy, my lost but noble first choice, is no longer available? Perhaps a doctor. "Oh, a doctor? What kind of doctor?!" Immunologist focusing on epidemic research. "Oh."

See, before, when we were little kids, our job choices were finite but immensely exciting to adults. When we said "police officer" or "scientist" adults would jump up and down with excitement, fueling our fantasies with encouragement. My father now just tells me that I will never make it into UF's Medical School with my kind of grades. Where is the enthusiasm? Where is our untempered craze for our chosen profession?

I say we lead a revolution, drumming up interest within our prospective fields and just go nuts. Hey, if it does anything at all, at least we'll have fun doing it.

- Jonathan

PS- Check out my post from last week complete with picture of my nephew!