What to be when you grow up
This post was written by Hannah from Journal of a Rock Angel.
I remember when I was younger, I had these massive dreams about who I was going to be and what I was going to achieve. For years I knew I was going to university, I knew that that was what I was going to do but what I was going to do when I got there was a complete mystery.
In my ideal world, I dreamt about being a writer, then a doctor, then back to a writer. At one point I wanted to be a lawyer. I even wanted to be a paramedic at one point (that became almost realistic as I was going to take human biology in sixth form but my School didn’t do Human Biology on it’s own they just did normal Biology). I also wanted to be Marine Biologist – don’t ask me why I think I liked the idea of being able to swim lots!
Then I ended up back at a writer and it keeps coming back. I keep attempting to write short stories and stuff like that – I’ve done NaNoWriMo two years in a row and both times failed! I get to about 3000 words and have no further to go with my story. The characters fall into a black hole or something and I can’t get them out. I guess blog writing is my way of getting my writing out there but I’ve still not written a proper story. Then again I have a thirst for knowledge so many I should be writing Non-Fiction rather than Fiction.
Instead of following my dreams, I graduated from university and needed a job. I ended up a customer service rep for a safe company and read as much as I can during my lunch breaks and after work. Hopefully some day writing will be a full time occupation but for now it’s just a hobby then again its part time I think.
To a certain degree I struggle, I know what I want to say in my head but then when I get my pen to paper or my fingers to the keys, the ideas just fly away. I constantly have a notebook in my bag so that I can scribble the ideas down but it just doesn’t happen as easy as I think it should.
Maybe for now I’ll be a blogger or an online journal-ist.
March 31st, 2009 at 4:13 am
I wanted to be a writer, an editor, a teacher. I wanted to major in English. Then I wanted to be a nurse or a business major. Now, I have no idea.
March 31st, 2009 at 4:49 am
I dreamed about having a lot of different careers. At first, I wanted to be a basketball player (ha!), but then I came to realize that I might be well-suited for something involving writing. Though the idea of going to law school crossed my mind as I went off to college, I always held out hope that I could be a writer of some kind, either an author or a journalist.
Then I read On the Road and my mind was blown by the book and I knew that I had to be a prof and work on this sort of stuff.
March 31st, 2009 at 5:00 am
As far as I’m concerned… I’m still growing up.
“When I’m grown up” suggests finality, or worse, a clear path towards a predetermined end goal – whether this goal is good good for me, who knows?
April 2nd, 2009 at 1:27 am
@Floxymoron – I agree thought I’m 23, I plan on being alive at least till I’m 80 so why should I settle into one profession now and stay there!
I sure can’t imagine being a customer service assistant that long!
March 31st, 2009 at 5:02 am
Oh, and I meant to tie this into the act of writing… Continually growing up (aka exploring, accepting, denouncing, reforming, etc.,) is wonderfully creative impetus for writing.
April 2nd, 2009 at 1:27 am
I misread your name! @[F]oxymoron
March 31st, 2009 at 6:40 am
I wrote this last month thanks to ClassyInPhilly
http://phampants.wordpress.com/2009/02/17/when-i-grow-up/
April 2nd, 2009 at 1:28 am
I will be sure to take a look thank you
March 31st, 2009 at 7:04 am
I wanted to be a vetrinarian, marine biologist and pop singer. At the age of 11 I realized that I would have to take lots of science courses (my worst subject) to be either of the first two and I couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. I then decided I want to write. I’m now in journalism school and I’m majoring in public relations! I’m hoping to go into one of those two fields once I graduate!
March 31st, 2009 at 7:36 am
I’m beginning a master’s program in library science this fall because I love being surrounded by books. Still, part of me really wants to be the one writing those books and not just reading them. I hope someday I’ll be able to complete a novel and see it on the library shelves.
March 31st, 2009 at 9:19 am
Career thoughts have taken me to a lot of very different places over the years. First I knew I wanted to work with computers. That evolved into designing video games. I had a special college picked out for that. When I realized that I couldn’t stand the straight coding I moved onto software, only to realize that was more of the same thing. Then I decided that I’d give being a web designer a shot. Well here I am, finally happy with my choice. Whether or not I find a job will be the important part.
Sure I wanted to be a lawyer at one point, but that requires too much school. I also wanted to be a writer. However, that dream flew out the window when I quickly learned that being a writer wouldn’t provide the stable career I felt I needed. I briefly considered being an engineer for my father, since he’s an electrical engineer, but I just didn’t have a love for it. Threw that out too. In the end, I threw a lot of ideas out the window. There are so many things that I love to do, but can’t make a career out of them.
Hopefully I’ll be ok when I graduate, eventually. I need to make it out alive…
March 31st, 2009 at 12:34 pm
i’m 25 and still feel like i’m growing up/ don’t know what to be when i grow up. so i can relate. i guess my problem is that i don’t really feel PASSION or commitment to any ONE thing.. i have so many things i’m interested in! it’s not that i’m not a passionate person, it’s just that i have a hard time focusing on something or dedicating to one thing.. now i’ve been throwing around graduate school in the back of my head. i’m not good at action so i’ll probably just think about it and never do it..
i guess that’s why i’m a blogger too.