I Don't Want to be Any of Those

When I reached school today to pick Vivian up, Ms. A was putting today's artwork on the hall walls. The kids had been asked what they wanted to grow up and be. They drew a picture and the teachers wrote verbatim what the kids said. Like "I want to grow up and be a police woman because I want to help good people".

I scanned the wall for Vivian's but couldn't find it. Last year she had thought outside the box. No fire fighters or police women for her. She wanted to be "a cook - like my dad". So I was a bit anxious and curious.

Then Ms. A attached the last sheet of artwork to the wall and she and the other teachers saw me. From their reactions I could tell that this one was even more outside the box.

Here's what Vivian wants to grow up and be:

"I don't want to be any of those - I want to be a princess."

On the way back I asked her why she didn't want to be a fire fighter or a police woman. I wasn't expecting an answer. Or perhaps a vague half-baked response. But she smartly replied:

"I don't like uniforms".