I Want to Be .. Me!
I Want to Be .. Me
I Want to Be .. Me
I want to be a princess
With tiara and lace dress,
Or the driver of a big rig,
18 wheels and nothing less.
Maybe, a tiny fairy
With magic wand and wings,
Like Tinkerbell from Peter Pan,
And do all wondrous things.
I want to be a firefighter
Saving people from the flames,
Or possibly an athlete
At the Olympic Games.
What about a hairdresser,
Or perhaps even a nurse?
Put my money in a wallet,
Or better yet, a purse.
So what if I like purple,
Or maybe even pink?
Just because I am a boy,
I don’t care what you think!
Or maybe I’m a little girl
Who likes to play with cars.
You other girls can keep your dolls,
You’re from Venus, I’m from Mars.
Which present should I choose,
A Barbie Doll or Spiderman?
Can I please have one of each,
I can’t decide quite who I am.
Why does society stereotype,
And put us in a box?
Why can’t we all just live a life
That’s free of chains and locks?
I want to be .. Me
My Inspiration for This Poem
Recently my three year old grandson was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up. His reply shocked his parents. He said, “I want to be a princess, or Spiderman, or a hairdresser, or a nurse.” His favourite colour also happens to be pink. If he is given a choice of three of four things that are the same, except their colour .. he will always choose the pink one.
We tried to tell his parents (my son and his wife) not to worry about it. Just indulge him and he may eventually grow out of it. Even if he doesn’t, does it matter? If you suppress him now, he will just rebel and do what he wants later. He has two older brothers and one younger brother, no sisters. My son has trouble accepting this, so it will be interesting to see what the future brings.
Now I find myself branching out and experimenting with short fiction, and thoroughly enjoying this, especially flash fiction.
I have been fortunate to have two poems made into songs and recorded. The first "On the Road to Kingdom Come" by Al Wordlaw, and the second, "If I Could Write a Love Poem" by award-winning Israeli/British singer Tally Koren.
My services increasingly in demand as a freelance writer and I have ghost-written the text for a number of children's books and educational tutorials.
It has taken me many years of searching and restlessness to realise that my life's passion is to write. It saddens me that I wasted so many years not devoting to that, but thinking positively, the experiences gained over those years are now wonderful material for my stories and poems.
I want to try to bring a new focus on poetry and try to make it appealing to a new generation of young people and those who thought they never liked or understood it before.
- The First Word – A Flash Fiction Story - January 18, 2024
- Dawns Song ~ and Twilight Serenade - December 1, 2023
- Weave Me a Story - June 15, 2023
I love this poem John. It is how I allowed my own kids to be, themselves. I never liked stereotyping kids. It can inhibit them and keep them in a narrow path or small box. Give children the right to use their own mind and be who they are. You have such a wonderful way of sending out positive messages and a remarkable way with children. Kudos! Great work. Your grandchildren are very fortunate to have you in their life.
Thank you, Phyllis. It sounds like you brought your own kids up very well. I appreciate your kind words, and glad you liked this poem.
John, this is such a great poem, should be an inspiration to all parents. Kids are who they are, and most of them will try to experience many things before they figure out what they want. They should have the chance to do it without feeling that some of their choices are “wrong”. Great message.
Emese, your comment echoes and confirms how I feel about this subject. When I was raising my own children, my oldest son liked pink and actually wore a hot pink dress and high heels to a school fancy dress once. He isn’t gay and has four children of his own. The child who inspired the poem is my second son’s boy. Glad you liked this poem.
This is great John, and really hits home for me, personally. Thank goodness there is a greater awareness of stereotypes nowadays. I have tried very hard not to instill bias in my four year old, give him choice of his own mind. He loves pink and wonder woman ha! Its interesting though now already fresh into preschool he has learned if he wants a play kitchen it should not be minnie mouse, but mickey, because ‘Minnie is for girls’ They pick it up a long the way, its nearly unavoidable. This is a wonderful topic, its important to foster the individual. Thank you for this.
Best,
Mel
Thank you for reading this Mel, and for your great comment. It is good that you find this relevant in your own situation as a mother. Yes, we just need to nurture our children to be individuals and make their own decisions not based on stereotypes. As you say it is inevitable that they will pick up what is considered acceptable along the way, then it’s up to them to conform or not. As long as they learn right from wrong and respect of others, everything else is superfluous.
Nicely stated John, why do we stereotype people, even children before they have found their way in life. We should all be judging what’s in the heart and nothing else, for in the end that’s what matters. A great poem and statement of what’s important. Great work John.
Thank you, Tony. Society’s standards are changing and we seem to be accepting more things under the banner “normal” but it will be a long time before all stereotype barriers are broken down. I appreciate your generous comment.
What a lovely poem John..I cannot agree with you more..I think the society stereotypes too much..my daughter now says her favorite colour is blue..but in her world nothing is constant..favorites keep on changing..lol….I really enjoyed reading this..thank you so much for sharing..
Thank you for reading and commenting on this poem, Anjana. I am glad you agree with my views here and can relate through your own daughter. Parents shouldn’t panic, just indulge their children’s likes, because chances are they will keep changing,