Each week, Wenona’s student leaders share their insights with their peers in Assembly.

The other day, I was asked a question I’m sure many of us have heard in the past, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

And for the first time, I didn’t have a clear answer. I hesitated. I paused. And eventually, I just said, “I don’t know”.

And that answer didn’t feel comfortable. It felt uncertain. Like I was somehow already behind.

But it made me think. Because there was once a time when that same question felt so easy.

When I was younger, I would have answered without hesitation. I wanted to be a ballerina. Or an international superspy. Something bold and exciting, something that made the future feel wide open and full of possibility.

Back then, the question wasn’t intimidating. It was exciting, because it was driven by my own imagination. But somewhere along the way, that changed. The question didn’t disappear, but the way it felt, did.

Now, when we’re asked what we want to be, it doesn’t just sound like curiosity, it sounds like pressure. Pressure to have a plan. Pressure to succeed. Pressure to get it right.

And suddenly, what once felt limitless starts to feel narrow.

But here’s something I’m only realising in my final year of high school. It is okay not to know.

It’s okay if your future doesn’t look clear yet. It’s okay if your answer keeps changing. It’s okay if you’re still figuring it out. Because the truth is, most people are.

We’re often told that growing up means having certainty. But in reality, it means learning how to move forward without it.

So maybe we’ve been asking the wrong question all along. Instead of asking, “What do you want to be?” we should be asking, “Who do you want to become?”

Because who you become isn’t defined by having everything planned out. It’s defined by how you show up when things are uncertain. By the courage to keep going when the path isn’t clear. By the way you treat others, and the values you choose to hold onto. That is what will shape your future, far more than any single decision ever could.

To the younger students here today, don’t rush to have the answers. Stay curious. Stay open. Let yourself imagine without limits.

And to those of us in the senior years, this time can feel overwhelming, because it feels like everything matters all at once. But what matters most isn’t that you have it all figured out. It’s that you keep showing up. That you keep trying. That you keep moving forward, even when you’re unsure.

Because growth doesn’t come from certainty. It comes from stepping into the unknown and trusting that you will figure it out along the way.

So if you were asked today, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” and your answer is “I don’t know,” maybe that’s not something to be afraid of.

Maybe it just means you’re not finished becoming yet.