When you were a kid, what did you tell people you wanted to be when you grew up? Did you come close?
I am currently a special education teacher... and I LOVE it! I could not imagine being anything else.
However, as a kid, I never once mentioned teacher as a possible career. In fact, I hated school and was a HUGE troublemaker in high school. I made it my sworn duty to give my teachers as much grief as possible (usually in a playful but extremely annoying way).
My oldest recollection (from when I was around 10) of how I would answer the "when you grow up..." question was with the response "a veterinarian!"
There were a few problems with that answer. I didn't have any pets, I had never had any pets... and I was pretty scared of all animals. When I was seven, a giant Husky jumped up on me and scratched the white part of my eyeball. I still remember the red mark it left on my eyeball. So yeah... I didn't like animals very much.
To be honest, my reaction to a bunny would be exactly like this as well.
But "veterinarian" sounded like a cool answer at the time. Plus it was the same answer my older sister gave. I guess I figured that if I got on her good side, one day when she was forcing me to play Barbie Queen of the Prom, she wouldn't cheat and make me go with Poindexter to the Prom (true story).
It did not work.
I hate you Poindexter!!!!
As I grew older, I changed my answer to "pilot"... just like every other boy who saw Top Gun when he was 13. I even started getting information about the Air Force Academy. This plan had some flaws as well. I had terrible eyesight... and I didn't really want to put any effort into High School. Those were two pretty important factors in getting accepted to The Air Force Academy... go figure. So that wasn't going to happen.
Shortly after discovering I wasn't quite Academy material, I decided I would go into aviation business management. I assure you this had nothing to do with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University being located in Daytona Beach, Florida.
I swear!!
College is going to be like this every day!!! No it's not.
No I don't. That is a complete lie. 17 year old me made the very mature decision of choosing a career based 100% on the location of the college. Luckily that only lasted for one year.
I can't imagine being in management. It is not because I am some rebel and can't stand "management". It is because I CANNOT FREAKING SIT STILL TO SAVE MY LIFE!
I have ADHD. I am sure this is part of the reason I was such a problem in school. But back then, they did not call it "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder". They called it "being a jackass". Which is what I was/am.
As a teacher, I never sit still. I am constantly moving and engaged. Some people think ADHD means you can't pay attention. However, the exact opposite is true. People with ADHD pay attention to EVERYTHING. This ability is a tremendous asset as a special educator. My kids constantly need help with 1 million different things all at once. Because I can focus on many different things at once, I am able to meet all of their needs (most of the time).
There is more to the story of how I became a teacher. But that is not what this post is about. Today I want to hear from all of you.
When I was a kid, in the 1950s in France, there were no computers. So, I did not know that you could be a software engineer.
Me too, I wanted to be an Air Force pilot, but not because of Top Gun of course! I was already 36 in 1986.
I changed my mind and instead of an Air Force officer, I became a Navy officer. Not too far.
At the Naval Academy, I discovered computers. If I had known that such beasts existed before, I would never become an officer, but I would have studied computer science and become a software engineer.
And after twenty years in the Navy, that is what I became: a software engineer.
More precisely, a traveling software engineer: a week ago I was in New York City, this morning I was in Paris, today I am in Budapest, and tomorrow I will be in Pécs, Hungary.
That is great! You ended up with two dream jobs.!oh and Top Gun was about Navy pilots. Forgot about that.
Indeed, several of my comrades at the Naval Academy became jet pilots.
It is true that I do not regret anything from my professional life.
It seems like traveling must be in your blood!
In the kindergarden I said I wanted to be an alcoholic. I think I didn't know what that meant ;)
LOL!!!! That is hilarious! I can only imagine what your teacher thought. Do your parents know you said that? If it were my kid I would tell that story EVERY chance I got.
Thank you so much for sharing this!!!
I remember I told my parents something like: "teacher was laughing at me when I said I wanted to be an alcoholic when I grow up, why did she laugh?". I was about six, so they tried to explain why I should not want to be who I said I wanted to be. I think I understood more or less because I changed my mind and from this time on I wanted to be magician.
PS: I'm neither alcoholic nor magician today :D
This story just got even funnier!
I love this post, what an awesome bit of han history, haha! I have said a version of writer/author/novelist since I was five years old and first asked. I know that's rare, most people do not stick with their childhood desire. I did go to college for Computer Science, my parents always supported my wish to write but wanted me to have a 'back up plan'. Circumstances led to me not completing a four year degree (I ended up with a dual associates in computer information systems and humanities/social sciences) . It's a long story, but I am super happy with the way life turned out :)
I'm glad you love being a teacher, if there were more teachers who loved their job school would be a far more enjoyable experience!
It sounds like you took a path that lead to happiness! That is really all the at matters. Thanks for the kind words. Its really all about the kids. I love my kids so I love my job.
Oh, I forgot to mention that I used to own that Barbie game, and my cousin Heather and I used to force my cousin Brad to play. Except Heather actually loved Point Dexter and her affinity for him made me not think he was so bad-we decided that Bob was a creeper and he was the one to avoid at all costs :)
When I was a kid, people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up and invariably told them I wanted to be happy. Thinking that a little boy didn't really understood the question, they'd repeat it with emphasis on a louder volume and a slower pace... To their dismay, the answer stayed the same and wore a very large smile.
I still do and feel like so far, I have by far succeeded in being a happy person. It still is my focus and smiles are rather easy. :) Thank you for giving us the opportunity to share on this important topic. What a great blessing. Namaste :)
I should have known you would have had the most perfectly positive answer! I always smile when I see you have left a comment!
Namaste
when I was a kid I wanted to be BIGGER when I grew up.
it happened.
Well done! Congratulations!
That really made me laugh. Thank you for that!
wanted to be a drummer, ended up doing that and much much more than I ever could have imagined at that age
For Best Results: Resteem, Upvote, Follow and Comment!
That is awesome! Do you have any posts on here of you playing?
Yes! Here is a drum cover of a nice song! I post videos oftem, I play the oud, flute, clarinet, guitar, bass, drums, sing and all that nonsense!
Check it out https://steemit.com/music/@thearcanebear/drums-beating-rhythms-and-time-a-cover-of-the-orange-is-the-new-black-finale-song
Wow that is really impressive! Checking out your post now.
Thank you for all the support, so glad you liked it. WE will do more as often as we can. If you have any suggestions we would love to know!
That skydiving post is awesome!!
haha thanks, I was surprised it didnt do very well, musta been the time of day i posted! I thought it was an amaazing post haha
It seems really clichéd but all I ever wanted to be was an archaeologist! I was dinosaur daft and used to recite the names of every single Dino I knew each night. Ah, those were the days. After such lofty aspirations i ended up in software testing sigh
But when you get old enough the kids in the office will be like " run that idea by the dinosaur over there." You can be a dinosaur!!!
There's always a silver lining!! :0D
Silver fox?
Damn all that photo manipulation in my posts ain't hiding nothing!
The only thing I see is your sparkling personality! ;)
Lolz, Cheers man!!! ;0)
Nice job on your post! I always wanted to be one of those dolphin trainers in Sea World or something. Ended up being a webdesigner - I love it and gives me a ton of flexibility!
You are the 2nd dolphin trainer dreamer! I'm so happy you found something you enjoy! Flexibility is way under rated. You can never make more time...
Somehow I just ended up in this segment and I do not regret a single thing. I can work from anywhere and anytime. Can't imagine anything else that suits me better.
Anytime anywhere sounds awesome!
It is without doubt! Only downside is that working in your own time also leads to procrastination and sometimes lack of motivation. For example, I am now laying on a beach on Ibiza and need to drag my ass back inside sometime today.
Both my mother and sister are teachers.... I do not understand these mortals and their "well of patience".
I wanted to become a preacher when I was younger... It did not happen thank God.
Nice post and topic.... following.
I like the way you wrote that: not a preacher "thank god". Well played! I hope that whatever path you took is a happy one!
If you follow me you will see that my path has taken me too Steemit and Cancun, Mexico where I currentley reside. Thanks for the laughs and by the way, why doesn't anyone talk about how you were provoked in the Mos Eisley Cantina? It's always you shot first.... Greedo was looking for trouble.
That is an excellent point. Its not like Iw as going to let him shoot me? He's a trained bounty hunter! If he fired from 2 feet away, I'd be dead.
Yes. I wanted to be a soldier. I achieved that goal.
Congratulations! What country?
A country that still uses WW2 equipment. In that, I somewhat achieved my other goal (which I had as a 5 year old) which was to fight in WW2.
Lol! That is a great way to think of it. Stay safe!