In third grade, I had visions of myself in a suit, carrying a briefcase, working in a busy downtown setting. I was going to be a lawyer. I have no idea why. To this day I have no interest in that field. I did like to write, though. I remember writing a story in third grade about a ghost town and agonizing over the paragraph placement.
When I graduated high school, the note under my picture said I was going to take courses in Business Administration at OSU. I have no idea why because I never stepped foot in the Business building during my entire under-graduate career. In fact, when I did visit the Business building, I was pursuing my MA and teaching a technical writing course at OSU; that was the room they assigned me because there weren’t enough in the English building. The technical writing was interesting to me, though, and I was thrilled they’d actually give me a degree (or two) just for studying it.
It’s no exaggeration to tell you that, when people would say everyone has something they were born to do, I was confused. I believed that not everyone could be good at everything so there must be some people who were born to be mediocre. I thought I might be one of those people. I was good at things, but there was always someone better. I was OK with that–I still am.
As I grew older I often read or heard the mantra, "Do what you love and the money will come." Again, I felt I must be missing something or that I was one of the people who was destined to just like her job.
And then, I found blogging. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a job. I work from home, I meet new people (albeit sometimes virtually and not tangibly), I write, I research, I have my own schedule. I’m in charge of me. When I was in third grade, I could have never imagined this would be my job. When I was in third grade, the idea of a personal computer, let alone a job involving a personal computer, was as foreign as a rover on Mars.
Can you imagine what our children are going to be when they grow up? It amazes me every day. The careers they will have most likely haven’t even been invented yet. That is so cool.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Your are right, it is VERY cool. It then brings up the next question, what kind of education can you provide to prepare kids for careers that haven’t been created. Since I homeschool, that question truly consumes my thoughts, but in a fun way. Great post, you have me thinking…
When I was really little, I wanted to be an actress, I thought we all did. Then when I was 14, I read my mom’s college psych 101 book. That sealed the deal. From that day on, I knew I wanted to work in Psychology. When I got to college, I also became interested in Criminal Justice, so I combined the two and had a degree in each, along with a Masters in Forensic Pscyhology. Love it!
My 15 year old daughter has known what she wants to do for 3 years now. She has researched colleges, and made connections with students currently in the field. Her gift for Christmas will actually be college textbooks in the field (forensic anthropology).
Now if only the other 2 kids were that easy. Actually, when my son was 5, he just wanted to be a dad!
My 19 year old daughter is going to college to do the job of her dreams — physical therapy. Our 7 year old son is obsessed with hunting and fishing. When he grows up he wants to be a great outdoor hunter and travel all over the world hunting. He watches too much of the Outdoor Channel! However, he told me that he was going to build a house in the field next to us so I won’t be lonely. (And so I won’t have to have deer heads in my house!!)
I can totally relate to this post!!!! Stumbled it.
hmm.. I never thought of that but you are so right. I guess we only think of things according to what we ourselves have experienced. There are things out there we don’t know about..
I always wanted to be a ballerina and since that didn’t happen professionally, the dream of what I wanted to be died. It made no difference after that. So, as you can see.. I believe that everyone has something they were born to do.
At eleven, I honestly believe that my son knows what he wants to be; a musician.
And then sometimes it’s a GOOD thing we don’t grow up to fulfill our childhood dreams: I wanted to be an 18th century courtesan! Of course, I had no idea WHAT an 18th century courtesan WAS or DID (even after reading the definition), but I adored the beautiful clothes and the word itself was very glamorous. Period piece movies are still among my very favorites, but fortunately I became a contract negotiator instead of a high priced prostitute! Ah, there but for the grace…
I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. This is actually a question I think about a lot since I will have to return to work to build up savings so that my husband can retire one day. What ever our kids pick, I hope they have an easier time coming to the decision than either of their parents!
[please excuse me if this is a duplicate post, I'm having technical difficulties]
I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. This is actually a question I think about a lot since I will have to return to work to build up savings so that my husband can retire one day. What ever our kids pick, I hope they have an easier time coming to the decision than either of their parents!