As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Was your dream to be a fire fighter, a doctor, a teacher? Did you want to build things, be your own boss, or save the environment?
I still chuckle when I remember my daughter’s preschool graduation. This group of 5 and 6-year-olds were asked what they wanted to do when they grew up. After a lot of fireman, policeman, and doctor responses, my daughter’s quick, unrehearsed response was, “I want to be a paleontologist.” The audience cracked up. When the teacher asked her what that meant, she knew. How does a 6 year old know what a paleontologist is?! Or even know how to pronounce that?! Over time her ambitions changed. In her teens she found her passion for martial arts. By age 21 she opened her own taekwondo school. She now has her fifth degree black belt and a very successful business.
At one point in my childhood I wanted to be an archaeologist. I love history, especially ancient history. The idea of being in an exotic place digging in ruins looking for lost artifacts sounded exciting and fulfilling. I wanted to brush dirt and sand away to uncover pottery or bones that haven’t seen the light of day for centuries. It seemed like an intellectual puzzle. I wanted to do the research to determine where to dig. Then, discovering pieces of the past would be the prize for persistence. These discoveries from an ancient civilization would also bring wonder – of who these people were and how they lived.
In my teens, I thought about the reality of living and working on site as an archaeologist. Ruins in a place like Egypt would mean dusty, hot, sweaty work with no running water but plenty of scorpions. Ruins in the rain forest would be hot, humid, sweaty work with no running water but plenty of snakes. This job would probably include living in a tent for months (or maybe even years). Keep in mind this was all before the Indiana Jones movies romanticized the whole field. Archaeology didn’t seem so wonderful to me anymore. And I realized that I wanted to have a family someday and this career didn’t seem conducive to family life.
I also toyed with the idea of becoming a writer. I could write about exotic places and research any topic I had interest in. I could write about the distant past, the possibilities of the future or anywhere in between. I could teach others about real people and places or help them escape into a world I totally made up. But I feared writing wasn’t a stable enough career to help support my future family. Would I be able to sell books or articles consistently enough to bring in a regular paycheck?
With my love of reading and writing, I decided to become an English teacher. I got paid to study and teach wonderful literature and hone my craft in writing while coaching others to write better. I had the privilege of working with junior high and high school students and watching them mature. I had the joy of seeing those “ah-ha” moments when the light bulb went on for them. And I loved challenging myself, including when I took on rebuilding a video production program at the high school. But the idea of becoming a professional writer was always at the back of my mind. I loved so many aspects of my thirty year teaching career, but retirement meant an opportunity to finally pursue my dream of being a writer.
So what did you want to be when you were a kid? What did you end up doing? Do you have other career dreams and goals you still work on during your free time or hope to get back to some day? Please share!