From the time that I was in seventh grade, I have been asked the question, “what do you want to do when you grow up?” At the age of twelve, being asked that sort of question seemed preposterous, even today that question seems like it shouldn’t be asked so repeatedly. Teenagers have so much outside pressure, they do not need any other pressure caused from the people asking about future career goals.

The likelihood that a twelve year old knows exactly what they want to do when they are twenty or thirty years old is very low. How is it possible for kids to figure out their future lives if they do not even fully understand themselves? Preteenagers and teenagers are learning more about themselves every single day, so there is no way that they are going to be able to figure out their “perfect career.”

It is one thing to put pressure on teenagers to get the best grades that they can. But then to balance extracurricular activities, a social life, a job, and on top of that finding the “perfect career,” that is ridiculous. There is no way to balance all of those things effectively. Teenagers have always had a lot on their plate, but lately there is even more with finding the perfect future.

Now, this is not saying that teenagers should not be focusing some effort on figuring out what might be in store for them. It is an absurd idea to think that teenagers will have everything figured out. There are some things that need to be figured out, but in no way, everything. The focus should be switched to figuring out what is really going on in the teens head before figuring out what the teen wants in life. A crucial step in the process to finding the perfect life, a step that cannot be skipped any longer.