What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

It's been a week since Mother's Day, and with that in mind, I've reflected on this past year of my life where I've had to more seriously consider the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I've come to some conclusions that may surprise you.

I have many goals and ideas for the future: I want to graduate from college, to teach dance, to perform, to write novels, to travel, to explore new things and new places.

But what I really want my future to look like is this:

all pictures courtesy of Pinterest

I want to be a wife and a mother.

Now there's some out there who may think that my mindset is dated or that I am missing out on much greater things, or that I am setting women back by focusing on these traditional roles, but I would have to respectfully disagree.

Yes, women should feel empowered and have the freedom to choose to be anything they want to be.

But to me, the best thing a woman can be is a wife and a mother.

There is something especially sacred and God-blessed about a family. God Himself is our Father. Family is so important that, of all the names the one Almighty Being could ask us to call Him, He chose Father. I myself have never felt closer to God or more on track with my life than when I am with my family, being raised in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I don't see anything degrading, repressive, or insulting about being a homemaker.

Yes, I plan to pursue my dreams. I plan to dance for as long as I possibly can, including in my kitchen once I'm far too old for performing. I plan to see as much of the world as I can, to become as educated as I can, to explore new things. 

But at the end of it all, if I have not reached my ultimate goal of being a righteous wife and mother, I will have achieved nothing.

To the women of the world: Do not accept anyone telling you that you are limited in what you can or can't do or be. Do not doubt your abilities to accomplish any dream you have. But do not discredit the value of being a wife and mother, of making a home in which God's Spirit can dwell and instruct, of creating an atmosphere of love and laughter and home-baked cookies that your children will remember and pass on to their children, of building a sanctuary for your family in a troubled world.

What do I want to do when I grow up?

Change the world.

What better way to do that than to raise the next generation in love and righteousness?

Every child who believes in themselves, who treats others with kindness, and who is firm in their beliefs is someone who can and will change the world around them.

So, what do you want to be when you grow up?

Because I'd be happy to just be "Mommy."