I think I speak for most when I say that knowing what you want to be when you grow up is not as easy as they made it seem back in pre-school when we were asked on graduation day. We are not really prepared enough for the world. Growing up in kindergarten, we were told that you can be whatever it is that you want to be, then you get to university and life gets real. Money affects you more than it did when you were a kid which then impacts your career decision. Often, you see students struggling when choosing what field they want to go into. Do you stick with your passion? Or do you choose the safe path that will guarantee a lucrative future?

I had the pleasure of speaking with a couple of students on this matter. Paige Palmer, a first-year design student who decided to stick with her passion for drawing regardless of societal norms, and Daniela Manoli who is following both her passion and working towards what’s considered a practical career.

Palmer shared how her love for drawing and creative expression has always been a part of who she is. While she briefly considered nursing, a career that promised more financial security, she ultimately chose to follow her passion. “I wanted to do something I genuinely like,” Palmer says, acknowledging the pressure many students feel to pursue more traditional and profitable careers. For her, design feels like the right path, one that allows her to fully explore her creativity. “It really does ask for a lot of your own original ideas,” she explains. “It allows you to really think about the problem [creatively] and come up with solutions.”

Palmer also reflects on her journey before university, including a gap year spent upgrading her math skills, which helped her feel more prepared for the challenges of higher education. Moving to a new country three years ago, she spoke about the transition from high school to university and how it boosted her confidence. I asked Palmer how her family reacted to her decision to pursue arts. 

“I’m very grateful I have very supportive parents. They’ve always gave me the space to express myself freely and decide what I wanted to do with my future,” she says. Her supportive family has allowed her to make her own decisions, unlike some of her peers who feel pressured to pursue specific career paths. 

Despite the financial uncertainties that come with some creative fields, Palmer has no regrets. She’s grateful for her parents’ support and is confident that design is her true calling. “I think I’ll be okay. This is what I should be doing,” she says. Though still early in her university experience, Palmer is determined to grow within the design community and hopes to encourage others who may feel unsure about following a creative path.

Manoli, on the other hand, offers a unique perspective by blending her love for music with a double major in philosophy and mathematics and aspiring to pursue a law degree. She is also working towards an associate diploma at the Royal Conservatory of Music. For her, it’s not about choosing one over the other but finding a balance between intellectual curiosity and artistic expression. 

“I do hope I’ll get to combine them somehow […] music takes care of my emotions,” Manoli said. Her decision to combine these seemingly different fields comes from a desire to both nurture her creative side and challenge herself academically.

While philosophy and mathematics might seem like practical choices, Manoli doesn’t see them as merely ‘safe’ — they’re a way for her to explore deeper questions and solve problems that intrigue her. 

“I’m also doing all of this for a personal level. At a personal level. Not for a gain […] I’ll get to the material gain later in life, but it’s about the means, not the end alone,” she explained. 

She believes in the importance of keeping her passion alive even while working toward a degree that opens doors in different career fields. Manoli did not want to limit herself to just one thing. Music has always been a part of who she is, but she also wanted to understand the world on a deeper level through philosophy and math and eventually law. 

Both Palmer and Manoli have taken different paths but share a similar resolve in shaping their own futures, refusing to be limited by societal expectations. Their stories reflect the inner conflict many students face today: passion vs. practicality. Yet, as Palmer and Manoli show, it is possible to merge both; whether by fully committing to your creative passion or finding a balance between what excites you and what ‘secures’ your future.

In the end, it’s about taking one step at a time, staying true to yourself, and being open to where your journey may lead. It’s less about knowing and more about discovering who you are along the way. And perhaps that is the real answer to the question of ‘what do you want to be when you grow up’. 

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Photo by Amanda Erickson