Member-only story
What does it mean to “want to be me when I grow up”?
My username — I Wanna Be Me When I Grow Up — discovered me more than a decade ago. In that instant of discovery it also became my life’s motto.
The story is quick. I was in Chicago for a conference. I was walking by a large office building with floor to ceiling windows on the first floor on a quiet spring Saturday morning. I noticed some art hanging on the wall of the building — modern, graffiti style wording spelled it out — I WANNA BE ME WHEN I GROW UP.
I wish I had a photo of the piece. I’d probably try to recreate it for my living room wall.
What causes a piece of art, a turn of phrase, or a chance encounter to hit you so hard in the gut that it turns into a model for how you want to live your life? I don’t know the answer, but this one did for me.
You see, I’m tremendously curious about the world and about my place in the world. I want to keep experimenting with my life and my actions to figure out how I better fit in the world. How does my voice add to the conversation to make it richer? How to my actions make the world a better place? How do I grow so that I keep becoming the best version of me?
To be yourself, you have to feel safe. A black female colleague and I were having a conversation the other day. We’ve worked at the same organization for…
