When you were five, what did you want to be when you grew up?

by rebelzva & cptxbonnot

2026

When you were five, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was five, I wanted to be a mermaid.

– not the sparkly Disney kind — the wild, dangerous kind who lived in the deep ocean

– I’d spend hours in the bathtub pretending the water was the sea, making up stories about coral castles and battles with pirates

– I even tried to hold my breath for “hours” (it was really about 12 seconds)

– my mom would find me wrapped in a towel “tail,” telling her I was never coming back to land

Looking back, it makes sense. Even then I wanted freedom — to swim away from rules, to have a life that felt magical and untamed. I didn’t want a normal job or a normal house. I wanted adventure. I wanted to be something beautiful and a little bit scary.

Now I’m grown up and… well, I’m not a mermaid (yet). But I did end up with my own pirate. We sail our own little ship — sometimes it’s just the two of us, sometimes we dream about adding tiny crew members. We make our own rules, chase our own storms, and build a life that still feels like the deep ocean — wild, deep, and ours.

So yeah… five-year-old me would be proud. I didn’t become a mermaid, but I found my ocean.

What about you? What did little you dream of becoming? Tell us in the comments — we love hearing the old dreams.

forever yours (still secretly practicing holding my breath underwater),

rebelzva & cptxbonnot 🖤🏴

2 responses to “When you were five, what did you want to be when you grew up?”

  1. Oh my goodness… This was a really fun read and had me feeling gjggy for 5 year old you with those lofty dreams of becoming something most would deem unattainable. And while your tail still hasn’t come in yet, you’re still enjoying the ocean at your feet and the sand in your toes. Thank you so much for this. I loved it.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. your words made my whole day brighter! thank you for reading and for feeling that little girl’s dream with me! ❤️❤️❤️ RebelZva

      Like

Leave a reply to inkdrinker00 Cancel reply