A lot of people think I should follow in my father's footsteps and go into medicine, and I have to admit, I have thought about it myself. I do like to help my father with his research, when he lets me. I like to help him prepare slides. I have always been fascinated by microscopes and the tiny worlds they show us, that cannot be seen by the naked eye. However, I really do not think I would be happy in pure research. If I did decide to go into medicine, I think I would rather be an actual, hands-on, doctor. Perhaps one like Dr. Kimber Lee, my father's very good friend. She is a mutant specialist, one of the few in the world. Not only is she a very good doctor, but she runs a clinic. It is mostly for mutants, but anyone can go there who is in need of basic medical care. And by anyone, I really do mean anyone. Even if you do not have insurance. She is not rich like many doctors are, and she does not care. She has told me many times that the only reason she got into medicine was to help people and I believe it. If I do go into medicine, I hope I can be half as good and half as compassionate as she is. If I do become a doctor, I would like very much to work in her clinic.

I have also thought about becoming a teacher. I help my friends with their schoolwork and I find it is exciting to help someone understand something, to teach them. Cierra says I have a gift for helping people to learn. I do not think I really have a gift, I think the secret to being a good teacher is to love learning. I love to learn new things, and I think when I try to help someone else learn that love shows and others catch some of that enthusiasm, so they learn.

Another thing I have thought of becoming is the first female and mutant President of the United States. All right, I admit that one would be very difficult for me, but perhaps, instead, I could become a member of congress, or the senate. If I did, I could fight for mutant rights, perhaps even get people to really believe that mutants are, deep down, just as human as anyone else, and have the same rights as anyone else.

There are many things I have thought about becoming, and the idea of narrowing them down to one or two choices to write this composition was a scary one. Then, when I was coming home today, something happened to show me that I did know exactly what I want to be when I grow up.

I was walking home from Cierra Mile's house. I had gone over there after school so we could work on our science project together. Normally, I call for a ride, or Cierra's mother gives me a lift, but it was such a warm, sunny, afternoon, and I decided to walk.

I was passing the convenient store at the end of Main Street, when I saw a sign someone had hung in the window. People are always hanging signs in the window, to advertise things that they feel are of interest in the community, like church suppers and things like that. This one was for a meeting, taking place this Friday night. A meeting to be held by SCAM.

Do you know what SCAM is? Everyone in my family knows, although none of us are members. SCAM stands for Societies Citizens Against Mutants. They are much like the Friends of Humanity, as in they believe that mutants are a threat to the American Way of Life and ought to be stopped. Some believe we should all be locked up in special camps, others believe we should be forced to wear devices that will stop us from using our powers. Some even believe we should all just be killed.

In my house, we laugh about them, but deep down, all of us are more scared of them than we are of any "super powered" villain. They are the real threat to all of us, because they are "normal" people, normal people who are scared of mutants.

Many people think these groups are "amusing." Cierra, for one, makes jokes about them. She thinks that no one could take them seriously. I am sure there are people who feel the same way about the KKK. That does not make the threat any less real.

SCAM and the Friends of Humanity frighten me, because they see mutants, all mutants as a threat. It does not matter that most of us are very human, with real hopes and fears, just like anyone else. Yes, I admit there are bad mutants, but does not that in itself show how human we are? Just like any other group of people, we have our good and our bad.

People can laugh at the Friends of Humanity, they can laugh at SCAM, but the truth is, that they are slowly gaining power. For every person who believes that mutants are equal, and who thinks that these groups are silly, someone else is frightened of us. They feel that because of our special abilities, we might try to hurt them, or take jobs away from them. To some of these people, we have become the common enemy.

If the members of SCAM have their way, it will not matter what I want to be when I grow up. If the Friends of Humanity can take power, I will not be allowed to go to college, or trade school. I probably will not even be allowed to get a job. Instead, I will end up dead or in a mutant concentration camp. It will not matter that I am smart. It will not matter that I want to help people. All that will matter is that I happened to be born with blue fur and something extra in my genetic makeup.

You may very well ask at this point, why this makes it easier to write this composition. Maybe you are thinking that now I have decided the best thing to do would be to don a costume when I am older, and become an X-Man. Well, perhaps that is what I will do, but I am not sure. But the answer to the question, What I Want To Be When I Grow Up, is an easy one.

I want to be accepted.