When You Were A Child

[Lilia A]

An air traffic controller, but you need really great eyesight for that and mine isn't great.

 

[dinakt]

Archeologist, zoologist, movie director, all before high school.

 

[floridaice]

Archaeologist, then Volcanologist. Toyed with Veterinarian during High School

 

[missing]

Cowgirl, until I grew too big for my cowgirl outfit.

I especially liked the gun with which I could shoot my big brother.

By first grade, I was committed to being a writer, having completed my first novel, Dookie the Cookie. It was an adventure/romance, in which Dookie, an Oreo cookie, escapes into the attic where he meets and falls in love with Sally the Scissors.

Most likely I misspelled scissors, but the book was four legal pad pages long, had action and conflict and a happy ending, and being a writer seemed like a much more viable career than cowgirl, especially in Queens. But there were a few years (ages 10-14) when I would have given up the writer's life to be a movie star. I kept hoping a movie producer would spot me as I walked home from school, but sadly for Hollywood, it never happened. So I stuck to writing and that worked out just fine.

 

[avivadawn]

A fashion designer and a Ballet Dancer. I devoured Nancy Drew books.

 

[cocotaffy]

I just wanted to travel all around the world especially to South America and China but alas I've never made it to those regions. All my best buddies were from different parts of the world or had some kind of interesting family background. I guess it was a way to vicariously experience other cultures even if I wasn't able to actually travel at the time.
Otherwise, I realize I never had any of those dream jobs. The closest to that was in High school I wanted to be a psychiatrist but got discouraged by my surroundings who had the great taste to tell me the ever so cliche line "They all end up having psychological issues, don't do it !" Wasn't set enough in my ways or too naive and just gave up on the idea. Regrets, regrets .... Oh well the best I can do now is not to deter my kids and try to advise them wisely, easier said than done.

 

[taz'smum]

I wanted to work in Woolworth's on the sweet counter

 

[aftershocks]

A writer, a teacher, a fashion model, an equestrian, a ballet dancer... Most fanciful of all, a princess who lives happily ever after, whatever I thought that was supposed to mean.

A fashion designer and a Ballet Dancer. I devoured Nancy Drew books.

My favorite books were The Secret Garden, Black Beauty (and any books about horses), The Sleeping Beauty, Dr. Seuss, Little House on the Prairie series, Little Women, and later gothic romances...

 

[Vash01]

I wanted to be a doctor because my father was one. My parents were happy about it, but when I became a rebellious teenager, I wanted to be different from my parents, so I decided to become an engineer. Part of it was that I loved Mathematics and I couldn’t bear the thought of giving it up. I ended up an engineer with a PhD who didn’t enjoy the work. I considered going to medical school, but giving up my income, and being a student again for years was a bit too much. So my childhood dream never materialized.

 

[gkelly]

When my niece and nephew were each in kindergarten or 1st grade, they had to draw a picture with a caption about what they wanted to be when they grew up.

My niece wrote Realtor and my nephew wrote Accountess. (I assume he just misspelled Accountant, although I love the idea of an countess who is also an accountant)

Those seemed boringly realistic ambitions for that age.

Now niece is studying physics in college and nephew is leaning toward engineering.

 

[Moto Guzzi]

I loved to read and wanted to be a writer. When I was 8 or 9, somebody left a tabloid--I think it was the National Enquirer--at our house. I read everything and, after reading the stories in that, decided writing for a tabloid would be an easy start to my career and I could make a ton of money.

I wrote a story called My Husband Kept His First Wife's Ashes in the Refrigerator. I had no idea what cremains or an urn looked like but thought they would be in a small container. My protagonist mistook the ashes for parmesan cheese and sprinkled some on a pizza. The story concluded with "My husband was furious. He took the ashes away and I never saw them again. I don't care, though. They didn't taste very good anyway."

My mother refused to let me send my story to the National Enquirer, thus ending my career as a tabloid writer before it began. I did end up as a writer but I wrote contracting regulations, instructions, and manuals for the Navy.

 

[Kasey]

I wanted to be a reporter, then a lawyer, but I don't like talking in front of people. I think teacher was another early ambition (as well as animal trainer), but I don't recall nurse ever being one. Now I couldn't imagine being anything else.

 

[gkelly]

When I told people I wanted to be a writer, they often assumed I wanted to be a reporter. I had no interest in being responsible for finding and filing breaking news on deadline and risking getting scooped! That was the last kind of job I wanted.

 

[snoopy]

Another paleontologist here. My mom had to look it up in the dictionary.

 

[Japanfan]

I wanted to be a doctor because my father was one. My parents were happy about it, but when I became a rebellious teenager, I wanted to be different from my parents, so I decided to become an engineer.

I would have done well to become a lawyer, but three of four cousin's on my mother's side were lawyers, so I perceived law as status quote and ended up studying film studies, then becoming a journalists.

And people often tell me I would have been an excellent lawyer.

 

[skateboy]

I've already posted what I wanted to be, but just remembered this and I think it's funny...

When I was about 5, I received a huge World Atlas for my birthday and was fascinated by it. So I became somewhat of a young geography buff. I was particularly intrigued by remote places and dreamed about visiting them. One was Greenland.

All through my teens, I thought about visiting Greenland one day. Then, when I was 18, I read about a 5-day group tour, trekking across the southern ice cap of Greenland. I was so excited and started taking steps to actually join the group, until it dawned on me... I absolutely despise cold weather.

Somehow I hadn't thought about that...

 

[Matryeshka]

I wanted to be a mermaid. I practiced making fins with my feet. My parents’ first house was this 70s nightmare that had carpet in the bathrooms. My mom would fill the bathtub and I’d turn on the shower after she left so I could practice being underwater. My name was going to be Coral. My mother did not support my ambitions because she loved her carpet more than me

Then I briefly wanted to be a squirrel named Jackie who was also a hard-hitting journalist. My mother whole-heartedly supported this once she realized I did not say weird stuff at school and gave the appearance
of being a normal, well-adjusted child.

My first (human) career that I wanted to be was a record producer because my eight year old self was OBSESSED with Jem and the Holograms. Only I didn’t side with Jem, I liked the Misfits and even then realized that all power resided with the eviiilllle owner of Starlight Records. I would play out scenarios where I would make my Barbie dolls sing against their will. My mother was...concerned.

Most of my English teachers thought I would be a writer. I’ve had several who told my mother I had a “gifted” imagination. I did have one Science teacher who felt very strongly I would
be a teacher, and even told my parents this at a conference (probably because I am bossy AF and always handled group projects MY WAY.). My parents wanted me to be an engineer, but it turns out there’s math involved.

In Middle School, I wanted to be a dolphin trainer. Then a diplomat. In high school, I wanted to be a nurse, owner of a country inn, then in college, my first major was Biochemistry. But that required calculus. Ooopsies. Then I went back to wanting to work in international service, as a diplomat or translator.

I’m now a history teacher, so points to my sixth-grade science teacher Ms Guillory.

 

[Peaches LaTour]

"My husband kept his first wife's ashes in the refrigerator"? I love that title! It would be a great country & western song.

I also think it is great that so many other people here read Nancy Drew books, too. I couldn't get enough of Nancy.

 

[Winnipeg]

Also an ex Nancy Drew book reader. I had every volume, Used to read a comlete volume after school sometimes.

Used to compete roller skating too (Another poster said they did too!).

I wanted to be an actress but everyone pooh-poohed the idea saying it was unrealistic, impractical, everyone else wants that too, etc etc.

So I changed my mind to brain surgeon.

 

[PRlady]

First an astronomer and then an architect, until I found out that you needed math and some sense of spatial relations. Then a foreign service officer/diplomat, for which I was told in grad school I didn’t have the personality. Truer words were never spoken.

I thought about a PhD in history but intuitively knew I’d be frustrated as an academic, and now that I work with them, I was definitely right. I’ve done well in advocacy communications so very few regrets.