What did you want to be when you grew up?

[michealsmells]

When I was super little, I had always wanted to be a firefighter. Firetrucks were so cool, and I wanted to save people!

That eventually changed of course, and now I've wanted to be a vet since I was like 10.

 

[Kaiaa]

I have wanted to be/have been so many things in my short life thus far. When I was around 12-14 I was dead set on being a marine biologist. Then I got interested in graphic design and swore I'd become a graphic designer all the way through high school. I was a makeup artist for a time (unbelievable, since I no longer wear much makeup!) and thought I might go to beauty school. Instead, I went to college and chose teaching and got my degree. It was one of the most fun jobs I ever had, but I got burnt out on it and went back to college to become a vet tech. I worked in several veterinary offices and learned that there is a culture in most vet offices (at least around where I live) that I didn't want to be a part of as it hurt my heart how they spoke about clients and their pets. It was severely depressing since I loved the job, but not the people I worked with. I'm now working in human healthcare during covid and it's crazy! I've also decided to go back to school AGAIN and become a Sonographer. I haven't chose a specialty yet though... Now...in the back of my mind I've always wanted to be an astrophysicist, so I guess if sonography doesn't work out...

Life is constantly changing and I think, in some regards, that's beautiful. I'd never have gotten the opportunity to try new things if I stuck with marine biology like I thought I'd do when I was so young!

 

[Holla]

I thought I wanted to grow up to be a vet since I love animals. Never ended up pursuing that though as It's a tough job especially when you tell someone they have to say goodbye to their pet.

I ended up pursing engineering. I'm not a certified engineer or anything though. I just work in the field. I went to school for Civil Engineering but my actual job is Mechanical Engineering related. I will probably find a new job at some point next year though as I moved and have to drive 70kms (43.5 miles) just to get to work on a daily basis.

 

[DarkDesertFox]

I wanted to do something in game design. Gaming was and always has been something I've loved greatly. Did I pursue my passion? Sadly, I did not... I decided not to due to multiple reasons. High competition, I'd most likely have to move both to go to a college that offered it and find a job in a different state and I was afraid of mixing business with pleasure. I ended up getting a degree in Supply Chain which is not something I am passionate about, but there are a lot of stable jobs in business that it is applicable for. Basically, I felt this was the safest route for me. My current job is a "Order Management Specialist".

I do a lot of different things from returns, ordering, managing an account, customer service with the business directly and other stuff. The problem is I don't get paid enough for what I do and it's only made me lose motivation over time. I think I would be a lot happier if I wasn't stuck answering calls throughout the day. That's my least favorite part of this job. I still want to do something in business just for a stable income. I want a job I can feel comfortable with a livable income even if it's not something I particularly love. I definitely can't have a job in something I hate doing.

 

[Antonio]

OMG! Funny enough, when I was little, I always joked about wanting to be a disappointment to my parents (much to their dismay) and funny enough, it's coming true! I also wanted to be a coder and quite frankly, i may or may not graduate next semester uwu.

 

[DinosaurDumpster]

I'm not yet an adult, but I really wanted to be a voice actor as a kid. It was mainly because I was obsessed with spongebob. I was mainly impressed by all of the different voices tom kenney did on the show and was just like "woah, what if i learned how to do different voices?"
It also inspired me to become an animator or artist but it didn't last long.

Now i'm set on doing something with music or band. I've been self teaching myself piano (more songs than anything else lol) ever since i can remember. The only reasons I picked up band was because i was "bullied" into it and my 10yo mind said "oh big sister is doing it so now i have to" and wound up loving it. I also found choir a lot more enjoyable when you can't feel the pressure of singing hymns in the middle of church. Its a huge part of my life and the chances of me being a mcdonalds manager are more likely than without it.

 

[zissou]

Why did everyone in this thread want to be a veterinarian Because me too *raises hand slowly*

As a kid, I first wanted to be an animal control officer (pretty sure this was based off this insane animal control show on TV), then a vet for about five years. When I got a bit older, my love of literature trumped my love of animals, so I wanted to be an author, and then a journalist.

As a young adult (TM) I went into uni wanting to study medicine. Then I took organic chemistry and was like NOPE! and decided to pursue my interests in computational neuroscience + psychology. Then I got my first job out of college, in clinical research... and that is the story of how I'm studying to be a doctor again. Now, with a full understanding of the difficult path ahead, and extra enthusiasm to make up for it.

 

[Stikki]

I wanted to be "a flying dragon" when I was very little. That didn't work out, but now I work in screenwriting so I guess my imagination never really died from the point I believed I could sprout wings if I wanted.

 

[-Blue-]

Some assumed I wanted to be a chef because I liked scrolling to cooking channels. I was little and I liked food I knew my family couldn't make with their skill. Haha...

 

[amemome]

I wanted to be a warrior who would wear armor and fight evil creatures with a sword. Basically I wanted to be a strong person who could defend a nation.

Thank goodness I'm now just a designer with a healthy side of web coding. Could not even imagine what the warrior lifestyle would be like for a potato like me.

 

[lana.]

i used to want to be a nurse, but now i get lightheaded when people talk about anything somewhat graphic, so that didn’t quite work out! i also wanted to be a marine biologist purely because i love the ocean, but i hate science so i decided that wouldn’t really work either lmao. my longest dream job was a tattoo artist and that is still something i want to pursue!! now im in a fashion design course so not rlly doing well with having one goal though :,)

 

[AeroFunk80]

I wanted to work in the movie industry and become a filmmaker. Fantasy movies were my favorite as a kid: Princess Bride, Neverending Story, Willow to name a few.

 

[Alyx]

I wanted to be a Meteorologist. I was a little baby in love with Jim Cantore. I watched Storm Stories every night (excluding the nights where they covered blizzards/avalanches and hurricanes - I had a preference: tornadoes!). I got excited every time a storm came. I cleaned my room every time I heard that a storm was in the forecast for optimal viewing. I still get excited when it storms - I love the thunder and the high winds (I live in very northern Minnesota, where big, scary tornadoes aren't a threat).

I have physical disabilities and I am not strong in math or physics. It's not the best field for me, so I chose something else.

 

[~Kilza~]

I'm sure there's some odd things I wanted to be when I grew up that I can't remember, but the two that I can remember that stick out in my mind are game designer/developer and NHL goalie. With regards to being an NHL goalie, goaltending is my favorite position in hockey, but that dream was kinda dead before it even began since I never played hockey, much less be a goaltender, lmao. As for being a game designer/developer, well, I feel like the main thing that really turned me off from ever wanting to be one was the horror stories I read over the years about some of the bigger name gaming companies, especially during crunch time (EA was the first one I remember reading about, but then you also have more recent examples like Rockstar during Red Dead Redemption 2's development, and much more infamously CD Projekt during Cyberpunk 2077's development). Still, I did end up in the computer science field and did end up becoming a non-game developer, and at least I got to fulfill my childhood dream of making a video game during a university class, so I feel like it worked out in the end even if it wasn't exactly what I wanted to be as a child.

 

[Harebells]

Well ... I wanted to be a nun.

It started when I was around 5 (according to my mother) and lasted until my second year of university.

When I was younger I did drawings of myself living at the convent and being a nun, kept begging my mother to let me get baptised (my family are not Catholic, or any other Christian denomination), apparently I was quite annoying with it. When we finally got a computer I started looking up various convents and asking them what I'd need to do to become a nun, as that was definitely what I wanted to do 100%.

I had a whole plan of how to be a nun - get my university degree, during that time get baptised, work for 6 years, contact them again, start the process. At that point I was convinced this was my calling, that there'd be nothing better than living in a convent. Around my second year of university I kind of realised I wanted to be a nun because the stability of convent life appealed to me, not because of any faith.

By that point I had absolutely no idea of what I wanted to do, so bounced around until falling into a role that paid enough for me to pay the bills and have the stability I wanted from the convent. In the end it probably all worked out for the best.

 

[Sidney]

Honestly? I just wanted to be happy.
I didn’t really care about careers or the like, but I did want a family of my own and to feel like i had “made it” haha

alternatively, my grandmother always told me as a child to say i wanted to be rich when I was asked ahaha

 

[Disneyfangirl23]

an Author but I can’t think of anything lol

 

[Beanz]

not an adult yet but when i was 12 or 13, i wanted to be a game developer. i don’t know what exactly i would like to do now but i think i’d like to be an illustrator or something else like that even though i would probably not make a lot of money. im not sure if i would go to college for illustration, i’d probably get a degree in something else because based on what i’ve heard colleges for creative fields are useless.

 

[nightglow]

I wanted to be a paleontologist for the longest time as a kid. As I got a little older, I was discouraged to keep to that idea. Later I wanted to be a biologist particularly the marine side. That was what I put on my school forum as a freshman. When I got home that day it was made clear to me that wasn't happening.
Needless to say I am not in any of that. I did get a small administrative education from the only school that I was allowed to go to since I managed to get a small grant that employers write off right away so I feel like it was almost a waste of time. I had a cleaning job a nickel away from the pay cap for a good while before covid ruined it all. Of course employers aren't interested in hiring near the pay wage I had earned through performance reviews. Especially now for how long I have been off of work.
This year I have been making a attempt of learning some digital stuff at home. I hope to one day make a video game. It is just pretty hard sometimes when you are stumbling your way through. I do feel like I learned a ton this year. If I ever achieve my goal, I think it would be the biggest achievement of my life honestly.

 

[Shawna]

My first dream job was when I was 8 and in the 3rd grade. I was obsessed with outer space and wanted to be an astronaut. Then I realized it was too much collage (plus you have to be in shape to be an astronaut), so I drifted away from that a long time ago. I am still fascinated by outer space and astronomy, but I am not hardcore obsessed like I was when I was 8.

Then for a while I wanted to be a pâtissier, which remained my main dream job in from late 5th (age 10) grade through a chunk of my 6th grade (age 11). I am fascinated by baking and cake decorating. However, I never baked a thing in my life. pp

Starting from 11th grade (age 16) for a good few years, I wanted to be a florist. I LOVE flowers to death. I figured I would have a blast making bouquets and other arrangements. But I realized it involve a lot of tying involved, which I cannot do. I have a learning disability and I struggle to do a lot of stuff related to floristry...

I feel kinda lost now, but a part of me wants to be some kind of author or screenwriter. As of now, I am leaning more towards the former. I want to write books that better the world and give people a proper understanding on things that are "new" to this world and that are heavily misunderstood.