Who ever actually knew what they wanted to be when they grow up?
Firefigher. Awesome! Astronaut. You can do it! Batman. Umm, ok, if you say so, that's cool!
As for me, I thought I had it down to what I wanted to do when I grew up. And then, in a heartbeat, that thought would change to something completely random. Whether it was related to something I saw on tv or read about or just came out of nowhere, my mind was set on it.
For instance, take all of the things I've at some point wanted to be and some I still wouldn't mind to be. See below.
Teacher. When I was very young, I wanted to be a teacher. I would write out IQ questions from those education games onto a chalkboard and read to a room full of stuffed animals and dolls. I think I wanted to be a teacher only because I liked being bossy and telling people what to do.
Veterinarian. I love animals, minus insects and arachnids, those I can do without. But because of my love for animals, I wanted to take care of them and make them feel better. Then I realized I would have times when I would have to euthanize these beloved animals. Nope. I did not want to be the grim reaper for dogs and cats.
Actress. A very teeny tiny part of me would love to be on screen, whether in the movies, televison or even in a commercial. I think it's the Leo side of me that just wants the attention. But I could never remember my lines anyway.
Pharmacist. We had a pharmacist come to my high school for a career day of sorts. Once I heard "easy to get a job" and "can make a lot of money," I was hooked. I graduated high school thinking I was going to be a pharmacist. And just to show I wasn't just lazy and greedy, I did a couple of weeks shadowing a pharmacist for a class and I actually liked the type of work. So there. Anyway, I started college with a pre-pharmacy curriculum and after taking my first college chemistry class, my pharmacy dream died...along with my GPA. That's when I switched to occupational safety and health.
Lawyer. As a teenager, I had a tendency to talk back and argue with the parents. One day after an arguement, or maybe it was a couple of times, I don't remember, the parents said I would make a great lawyer. Well, briefly, I thought it might work. I didn't want to be a lawyer that went to court or anything, gosh, too much pressure. I wanted to be a "behind the scenes" laywer, like a corporate lawyer or something. Then I realized how much school that would entail and the bar exam and it was just not for me.
Pastry chef. I blame this on the pastry competition I stumbled upon on the Food Network. The pastries and chocolates were pieces of art...and was completely edible. It blew my mind and I was hooked since. I don't think I'm creative at all, but give me some hot sugar and chocolate, I might be able to pull something off. This then led me to dream of opening a pastry shop (Heidi's Tasty Pastries). No bagels or bread. Just desserts...and art. To this day, I have a passion for making desserts and would like to someday make a business of it.
Director/Producer. Ok. So this one kind came out of nowhere. In college, I took a sort of skills test and my results were of the creative/writer type. Again, I don't think I'm artsy creative so I shrugged it off. I told a college professor this and he asked if I ever considered writing and producing safety videos (I was in my new major at the time). That never occured to me and I thought that making those cheesy safety videos and clips would be so much fun. So it was on my mind for about a full year.
Environmental scientist. I took an environmental engineering class and it got me so hyped about pollution and chemical spills and runoff that I wanted to do something. In fact, my junior year of college I went to a career fair hoping to get an internship with the state's EPA office, but got an internship with OSHA instead, thus starting my industrial hygiene career.
Food or travel writer. As I get older, all I wanna do is travel and eat. Is that so much to ask for? I mean really. If I got a job that would pay me to eat and/or travel and I write about it, done. I'd drop everything in a flash.
Food scientist. How cool would it be to create flavors? Seriously. Who else do you think created flavored potato chips or vanilla coke? Science!
