Do You Remember? Would you have been proud?

I read a Post today by xulee1 in which she asked “Do you remember what you wanted to be when you grew up?”

My first thought was “Gosh, I wanted to be so many things.” When I thought about it longer, a common thread began to emerge.

I wanted to be a female Musketeer like Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and D’Artagnan, I wanted to be Zoro, and Swamp Fox, A Regulator like in the movie Young Guns. I also wanted to be Teela from the Masters of the Universe, Cheetara from the ThunderCats and She-ra.

Wonder Woman gets a mention all her own. I spent so much time wrapping aluminum foil around my wrists to deflect imaginary bullets. Spinning in circles as I pulled my ponytail out of its tie so that my hair could fall all around me like hers did. My clothes stayed the same but in my mind, I was Wonder Woman.

Oh, and The Beastmaster. We can’t forget him.  I spent so much of my childhood staring at animals trying to communicate with them.

It all seems unrealistic, but when I look back at all the people or characters I wanted to be, it turns out I wanted to be someone who stood up for what was right. Someone who wasn’t afraid of adventure. A person who stood up for the less fortunate, and tried to do the right things to save people and the world.

I don’t know about saving the world, and I definitely haven’t always done the right things but I’ve had my moments, days and years even where young me might have been quite proud. I believe young me would encourage more adventures though, it’s been a while.

What about you? Do you remember what you wanted to be? Would young you be proud of who you are right now?