Once upon a time, she wanted to be a mermaid.

She would dance around in The Little Mermaid tracksuit she once adored while singing “Part of Your World” into her pink and purple microphone. When she hit her final note, she would take her bow and thank the crowd–her father.

During bathtime, she would play with her mermaid doll until the water turned from piping hot to lukewarm. She would have her mermaid go on all sorts of adventures, and she would accompany her.

She would swim around in her aunt’s pool with her legs together, as if she had a tale. She would race back and forth from each side of the shallow end because swimming was not a strong suit of hers.

But then she grew “too old” for mermaids. 

Once upon a time, she wanted to be a surgeon.

She learned about the human body in the fifth grade–it fascinated her. She learned that her forearm is made up of the radius and the ulna. She learned that the voice box is called the larynx. She learned that food goes down the esophagus, and that it takes seven seconds for the food to make its way to the stomach.

She believed becoming a surgeon was, in life, her true calling. She was determined to save the lives of others—she even said that all the blood wouldn’t bother her.

That was until she watched a nurse cut some skin off of her knee.  

Once upon a time, she wanted to be an FBI agent.

During the COVID-19 shutdown, she acquired the hobby of laying in her bed and watching Netflix. She finished many different television series during those long months, but the one she is most proud of is Criminal Minds. 

Throughout the duration of watching the 15-season-long show, she developed quite an interest in the FBI, she even began to research colleges that offered classes that would reward her with a criminal justice major.

But then the show ended.

She goes from profession to profession every other week. One day she wants to be a neonatal nurse, the next, a physical therapist. She might decide she wants to go into journalism, but interior design has always sparked her interests. Should she go into politics? No, that would be too stressful. 

She knows that she is only 15. She knows that she still has three more years until making a lifelong decision, but she only has three more years.

What ever happened to becoming a mermaid?