Career day for Twelve year Olds

In The Giver, twelve year olds are given their Life Assignments, the jobs they are going to have for the rest of their lives.  In our society, a capitalistic society where everyone is allowed to pursue their dreams, at I do not think that twelve year olds are ready to choose what their occupation will be for the rest of their lives.  I think that twelve years olds are not ready because they have their whole lives ahead of them.  Between twelve and whenever they go to college, they can change their minds multiple times.  I am twelve years  I want to old and I have changed my mind several times over what I want to be.  When I was younger, I wanted to be an astronaut, and then a lawyer, and then a doctor.  Now, I just want to take my time deciding what I want to do with my life. I wouldn't want someone to just say, 'you are doing this for the rest of your life' because I might not like what they want me to do.

Twelve year olds in our society are influenced in their decision as to their future carrers by pop culture and their family.  Pop culture can influence twelve year olds because it has such a large part of their lives.  A kid who really likes baseball, and who looks up to a well-known baseball player, such as Derek Jeter, would probably want to be a baseball player, or a kid who likes to sing, and looks up to a famous singer, such as Justin Timberlake, would want to be a singer.  Family can also have a large influence in their future career choice.  Families tend to influence children to get occupations that pay well, such as a lawyer or a CEO of a company, or other well-paying jobs.  They can also influence their child to take part in the family business, or have the same profession.

The Giver community has many assignments that are assigned to the twelve year olds.  Of those assignments, I would want to be Doctor.  I would want to be Doctor because it is a highly honorable job and because I have interest in medicine.  In a community based on honor, it would make life easier if I had a job that I was highly respected for.  I would also like Doctor because I have always expressed interest in the human anatomy and how to improve the lives of people.

All in all, the society in The Giver and our society are different when it comes to the roles and responsibilities of twelve year olds.  In my opinion, I prefer our society because it gives us the freedom of choice- a freedom that I could not live without.