Of new haircuts and a 7 yr old's plans

A new haircut- R had one, and I saw him today. Still don’t know what to make of it. Didn’t know then, told him so. I don’t think he liked that. But it was the truth, I really don’t know. I don’t think I will know either, that is till it grows back into something more familiar, then I know I will surely love it!

Anyway, that is not what inspired me to write. Nor is it what I am going to write about.

Here’s what did - my niece. She is now 7 and an ever present reminder to me of just how old I am getting! Again, not my point here.

She, K, currently has a great plan for her future. Other than inheriting my room along with my wardrobe, computer and keys to all the draws and cupboards she is currently not allowed to access, K has a great career plan.

She wants to be

An actress.

A paleuntolojist paleontologist

Environmentalist

Witch (the real magical kind)

Pop singer

Teacher

Non- vegetarian cum animal rights activist

Then she came up with a plan:

She will study to be a paleontologist, work as one for a few years to discover something new (anything new) about dinosaurs, after which she will act in a movie and provide the soundtrack. In the movie, she will of course be acting as a paleontologist. After this, she will teach paleontology; all the while of course keeping up her fight for the environment and for animal rights.

And she is very serious, mind you. She started yesterday by doing her math homework very quickly. Math she has been informed is a very important part of paleontology-cal success.

This started me thinking and at lunch today I asked R if he had such a list as a kid. Of course he did - which kid doesn’t.

I had quite a list myself. Some of which pre date my memory. Interestingly, I am told that at age 3 and a half, I wanted to be a “business woman”. Apparently, I stapled a bunch of papers together to create a makeshift cheque book and I carried that and a little briefcase around, writing people cheques- that’s of course what I thought “business women” should do.

Then, for the longest time I wanted to be an architect. I wanted to build a perfectly spherical building. I expanded that slightly to include the term ‘interior decorator’ and drew elaborate plans for the interior of my future house (more like palace), complete with red carpets, spiral staircases, ‘his’ and ‘her’ toilets, etc. I would live in it, of course with my parents and also apparently with 5 husbands (oh that’s a whole different story, I had a very strange idea of who husbands were!).

Around the age of 7 I had learnt to understand cricket and became like most good Indians, a fan. I wanted very badly to play for the Indian team. I dropped the idea when I was told there was absolutely no chance of a woman being allowed to play in the men’s team and also no chance of me growing up into a man. No one watches women’s cricket and feminist as I was, I had to concede, I found it was boring.

I went back to architect which was my longest standing career choice. At around 12, I decided I wanted to be a ‘theoretical physicist’, whatever it meant to me then, and, a year later I was going to work in ‘finance’. Again, I vaguely knew the word finance had something to do with money and/or math. And that was all I needed to know at that time.

Of course the time lines are unclear and the options of being a travel show host on television, an author and a spy made guest appearances. But for most part that’s my list.

My list

Business woman

Architect

Member of the men’s cricket team

Mathematician

Theoretical Physicist

Author

Architect

R’s list

Police inspector

Engineer (which is what he thought engine drivers are called)

Actor

Professional tennis player

Engineer (this time the real kind)

Prime minister

And where have I ended up? (Thankfully) I have not ENDed up anywhere yet and there are still options. I sometimes still find myself saying “when I grow up…” and I hate that I have to check myself. I miss not being able to look into a future full of possibilities with very few restrictions. Where everything was possible, doable, gettable and very much up to us.

In these little lists lie, I am sure, a lot of tiny truths about us. About how we grew up, how we changed, what influenced us and what attracted us. For instance, the fact that nature fascinates K and that I was probably fascinated by the abstract and the intellectual (and probably attracted to money) and the fact that R was probably drawn to action, to making things happen, and if I may add, to a tiny bit of glamour and power.

I am very interested to learn of everyone else’s list. Not, so I can know a bit more about them, but so I can celebrate childhood and the luxuries it affords us that we later rue.

And sometimes, like now, it does more than amuse.

I am inspired by what were once my dreams. The world is my oyster now as it was then, even if my choices have changed, and I intend to not let down 7 year old Medha, or for that matter 7 year old K, who even as I write is furiously finishing her math homework in time to watch her dino program on Discovery.

" Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end

We'd sing and dance for ever and a day

We'd live the life we choose

We'd fight and never lose

Cause we were young and sure to have our way"

- Gene Raskin