When you were a child?

[ellie]

I'm wondering if it's possible to know as a child what you really wanted to as an adult. I know that all important question, "so what do you want to do when you grow-up?", answer "fireman, police officer, mother etc" but really I wonder at a young age, we deep down know what we want to do, but maybe we haven't really connected the dots.

The reason I ask, as a child I had the answer of something silly like "decorator", but I don't think that's what I really wanted to do. Looking back it was more the activities I enjoyed doing and that was helping children, telling stories, think of me as the beatrix potter in the modern age. I remember when I was at primary school I would sit with the younger kids and make up these amazing stories (that art of have unfortunately lost), I remember the younger kids would be so captivated and I remember thinking of the great joy I felt telling these stories). I always remember those type of memories and the joy it also brought me.

So was there something as a child that you remember really enjoying doing and has that had a role to play in your career? If not maybe it should!

* edit * - and if you feel comfortable maybe tell us your occupation now or what you want it to be in the future.

I'm a designer but wanting to be a kindergarten teacher.

[seeker5]

Hmmm, when I was a child, I wanted to be an inventor, creating new things that had never being created before.

I loved spending my time thinking creatively, thinking of things that had never been done before, or at least I hadn't seen.

I spent a lot of time playing with legos and playmobile, creating entires stories about what was going on. Usually involved conflict and fighting between the good guys and the bad guys, but I remember creating very indepth stories that would span a long time.

At other times as a kid, on paper, I created fictional countries, with maps, populations, government system (always with me as the president of course). I'd look around everyone I knew as my friends and family and figure out which political cabinet post they would best fit in, so I had a pretty full cabinet. I'm not sure I told all of them of their role in my government and country . I figued out the kind of laws I'd like to setup too and drew maps. I didn't do any playacting though, I didn't create stories of the country and the government nor a history. I simply created a snapshot of the best way I'd think of how to set something up like that, how I'd like to set it up.

Hmmm, this was an interesting question, thanks, got to take a journey in my mind about stuff I loved to do as a youngster

[ellie]

What field do you currently work in now seeker5? If you don't mind me asking

As an only child I was always role playing, think "Bold and the Beautiful" - ha ha!

I role played by myself to about 12 or 13 and I remember the day when I said I had to give it up. Had to grow up! Looking back on it, I think it might of been a bit odd to be role playing at such an age, but I guess it was an escapism for me.

I loved singing in the mirror and acting as well, but never pursued that avenue outside my bedroom!

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by ellie

What field do you currently work in now seeker5? If you don't mind me asking

I'm not working now - I quit my job a few weeks ago

(pss) I'm in the job quitters club with you Hehe

But after writing what I wrote above, I thought of other things I did as a teenager too that I loved. One entire summer, I analyzed the military composition of a bunch of armies, studied military books to figure out how to design a military from the top down. Then I set up a fictional country, created a map of that country surrounded by different hostile countries, and then proceeded to design a military force - Navy, Army, and Airforce with how the forces were broken down, what equipment was used, etc. that would be able to defend the country against those hostile countries. I also thought a lot of how I'd setup the civilian and military policies to defend the country, and what strategies to use in this situations, and came up with new strategies/tactics I hadn't seen elsewhere. I wrote all of that down on paper - it was a very fun intellectual exercise and I loved doing that.

Another summer as a teenager, I took inspiration from Star War's jawa sandcrawler. I designed on paper a modern military sandcrawler for a desert planet. It had to have nothing but current (90's at the time) military technology. The sandcrawler would be full of tanks, weapons, soldiers, and on top of the sandcrawler there'd be aircrafts and helicopters that could take off. In a way, it would function like an aircraft carrier that roams around the desert that also carries tanks and soldiers. I designed the inner layouts to store the tanks, quarters for the crew, how the planes would be stored, and figured out strategies to use. All this was on paper of course, and purely as another fun intellectual exercise that I loved to think about.

I'm really very inclined to do mental work - working on strategies is something I absolutely love - trying to figure out how to get an organization from point A to point B, especially if that's something that is both challenging, and fun really gets me going and I can get lost in thinking that for hours. I'm very inclined to orient myself toward that in my next career.

Hmmm, thanks so much for starting this thread Ellie, I'm very happy about it. Much food for thought about what to do in my next career!

As an only child I was always role playing, think "Bold and the Beautiful" - ha ha!

That's interesting!

I role played by myself to about 12 or 13 and I remember the day when I said I had to give it up. Had to grow up! Looking back on it, I think it might of been a bit odd to be role playing at such an age, but I guess it was an escapism for me.

Why odd? Isn't Hollywood full of professionals who never stopped role playing? I heard lots of people pay money to watch those people role play!

[laceyjade10]

I role played for a long time too! I acted out situations I thought I would like to be in, they were usually something traumatic like being lost in woods or on an island, being a marine on the front line, and also singer and tap dancer (I loved shirley temple...) I also did this with Barbies. My Barbie dolls were usually in some dramatic on going story, I'd play with them daily and continue the adventure where we last left off everyday...I was about 13 when I finally stopped.
I can remember being in 1st grade on Career day and wearing some camo. When the teacher got to me I was sooo excited to announce what I intended to be when I grew up. When she asked, I proudly stated, "I'm going to be in the Marines. The Sargent of a special rescue unit." The teacher just looked weird and said, "Yah, ok. Not too many girls doing that ya know. Next, Nacy what do you want to be?" I felt embarrassed all the sudden, a slap in the face, and shocked that no one else thought that was cool! Next to me Nacy stated that she was going to be a nurse..The teacher said, "AWW! Nurse Nancy! How cute! I can see you doing that Nancy!" I decided at that point I would NEVER be a nurse, lol..
I did always see myself in a uniform doing something adventurous. I wasnt quite sure if it would be police or military. But everytime I would say what I wanted to do, my parents quickly shot it down, "girls dont do that, you dont make enought money for that, blah, blah."
I became a EMT and Firefighter when I was 19. That is what I still do now, and I love it. Right now, I work for a General Motors plant so the emergencies aren't that often, but when they do happen I just love it and feel in my soul that rescueing people, being in charge in crisis situations, was what I was meant to do.
But, I still have to continue in school in order to make more $$. I would love to get some sort of science degree and study paranormal things with real, credible methods but dont know if there is guaranteed $$ in that...
So, yeah...

[ellie]

Originally Posted by seeker5

(pss) I'm in the job quitters club with you Hehe

Ah yeah

Originally Posted by seeker5

Hmmm, thanks so much for starting this thread Ellie, I'm very happy about it. Much food for thought about what to do in my next career!

Will be interesting to see where you head

Oh I role played with my barbies too. There was always drama

I think I probably would of enjoyed acting or singing as a profession, but I was not really encouraged as a child to peruse this area, because of my religious upbringing I lost the passion for it. My parents didn't discourage doing it for fun, especially music as my dad was very musical, but would never of let me do it as a career. I have no desire to do music, acting as a career now though.

[SomeRandomGuy]

As a child I always said I wanted to be a computer programmer. I am currently doing software testing, so that is relatively close. I don't know if there is anything to that link, though, or if it is just a coincidence.

[The Cloud]

From since at least second grade I've known that I wanted to do something with biology. I just graduated from college, and I still know that this is going to play a big part of my life. Right now, a job isn't the passion that I'm looking for, but I know that once it is it will be biology.

[Grandiouse]

I was always active and running around. I preffered PE over sitting down in a classroom, and I also really enjoyed recess/play time. Even now, I prefer to be out and about doing something instead of being at home. I feel better and emotionally balanced when I am doing regular exercise.

[Amatrine]

When I was a child I wanted to be a teacher.

Shows how much I knew,lol I really have no patience for kids, and would never want to do that now.

I ended up a machinist and also admin. Health reasons I had to quit, but am now in the process of starting a home business.

ama

[moriez]

Nice thread ellie. I think its quite helpfull to go back in time and see what you wanted to be. As a young kid youre more pure and less influenced by society is my thinking. Funny is that I always was acting the good bad cool guy when playing with my friends. An adventurer, a womans heart breaker, a loner. Well, it seems that Im quite on track with that Later on I thought it was cool to be a trucker and then later on a fighter pilot. Everything had to be cool, that was important. Hmm, Ill let this settle and see what it brings me.

[Old Soul]

I wanted to be an archeologist..... or anything to do with digging for treasure

So now I just watch the Indiana Jones movies or National Treasure, or deep sea diving for burried treasure and it satisfy's my inner child

[StellaBlue]

I wanted to be an artist for as long as I can remember.
Then, I wanted to be a mom with 12 kids haha (and an artist!)
Then, I wanted to be a veterinarian, and an artist, and a mom!

Now, I'm going to school to be a teacher and I'm already a mom (only of 1, not 12 thank goodness!), but I really just want to paint all day and stay home with my daughter. I am thinking about going to grad school to be an art therapist and work with children who have communication and sensory problems. I would love to have a big farm where I could have lots of animals and grow all my own fresh organic food, and work out of my own home as an art therapist for children! That's actually not completely far off of my childhood dream.

[Calimero]

At the age of 4 I wanted to become like " Pipi Longstocking" at 5 I wanted to become a farmer, at the age of 6 I wanted to become a carpenter, at the age of 7 I wanted to be a person to clean desks and all in offices, at the age of 8 I wanted to become a teachter, at 10 I thought I would love to become a professional protester( :-) ).....between the age of 10 and 13 it was rather quite in my head, I had to work hard for school as I was not a smart kid at all and there was little time left to dream about what I wanted to do later.
At 14 I woke up again. I would go sail, go deep sea and work in the engine room, see a part of the world and learn a lot....this dream I kept till the day I left school.
So at the age of 18 I left school and I started to go for that goal.
I did it for a few years, and it was great. Why I quit? I didn't quit, I got sacked...but I didn't care as it had to go that way....Since I were a kid I made many manifests....and so after the sailing part...I was like a professional protester for a while, than I spent a little time teaching children, then I did some cleaning in offices...
And now I am doing the work a carpenter could do, an electrician could do, a farmer could do, and many more things....
But the main thing is that I am free to do what I want to do and that I like it....so in some way you could say that I live like "Pippi Långstrump".

So a large part of my childhood seems to be nothing but a large intention manifest.

[moriez]

Calimero, I seem to go pretty much in the same direction. Doing a bit of this and a bit of that. Do or did you never think that it might have been more rewarding to focus on one job or sector? If you only had found it? This is what I am currently thinking over.

[Angela]

I was always rearranging the furniture and making forts, and I wanted to create beautiful little rooms. But I didn't want to be an interior decorator, because I only wanted to express my own taste -- not bother about anyone else's, like a customer's!

Hmm, sounds like there's a life lesson in there.

[ellie]

Originally Posted by Angela

I was always rearranging the furniture and making forts, and I wanted to create beautiful little rooms. But I didn't want to be an interior decorator, because I only wanted to express my own taste -- not bother about anyone else's, like a customer's!

Hmm, sounds like there's a life lesson in there.

I was the same Angela, I metioned decorator in one of my earlier posts. I liked creating beautiful rooms too. I would create amazing doll-houses (not the cheap stuff) but I would try and replicate doll houses like Queen Elizabeth's doll house. It was an expensive hobby as a child but I really loved it. I actually studied interior design as well, based on my early memories I did enjoy coming up with designs, but hated to the people in the industry. I liked the idea but it is quite a superficial industry, just like design I'm coming to realise that although you might enjoy something, the people that make up the industry impact heavily on my decision to stay in a field.

[Calimero]

Originally Posted by moriez

Calimero, I seem to go pretty much in the same direction. Doing a bit of this and a bit of that. Do or did you never think that it might have been more rewarding to focus on one job or sector? If you only had found it? This is what I am currently thinking over.

It depends what you mean by more rewarding.
What is a reward?
Is it that it gives you more money?
Is it that you would feel more pride that you are a specialist in one single domain and people admire you for that....so the admiration of other people?
Is it that you feel happy satisfied and fine even when you seem to be different from other people and even if other people have critics on your life style or often say "I don't understand how you can live that way....I would feel insecure if I didn't have a steady job or steady income".

And of course it also depends on what your goals are.

I sometimes felt a hesitation and was sometimes thinking that maybe I had to focus on one thing. But the strange thing is that this hesitation comes only when I am not focused anymore on what I love to do and that I am listening to much to ....lets just call me it "mainstream opinions" about how we should live and what a good career is etc.....So for me the focus has to be on enjoying what I do and if it have to be more than one thing so be it. As enjoying my life including building new skills, have a lot experiences is the most rewarding thing in life for me.

[Jamesy]

I don't think it's necessarily true, at least in my case. Maybe some kids know what general trajectory they'll head in, and maybe some know exactly what they wanted to do. We've all heard stories about people who just *knew*.

I remember wanting to become a priest, but I now dislike the very concept of organized religion and I'm not particularly enthralled with catholicism either. The only thing I can glean from that is I want to serve people in a spiritual or philisophical way.

"If a teacher is indeed wise, he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind."
- Kahil Gibran

Lately I have been thinking philosopher/professor, kindergarten teacher, or hermit.

[StellaBlue]

ah. I just remembered what the FIRST thing was I wanted to be. I wanted to be a dog when I grew up hehe. I loved animals (still do) and I wouldn't believe anyone when they told me it wasn't possible.

[Calimero]

Originally Posted by StellaBlue

ah. I just remembered what the FIRST thing was I wanted to be. I wanted to be a dog when I grew up hehe. I loved animals (still do) and I wouldn't believe anyone when they told me it wasn't possible.

Can you also remember why you wanted to be or become a dog?
What is or has a dog that you think you can't be or can't have? Except from the body that is different from the human body?

What is it that you love so much about animals?

[StellaBlue]

Originally Posted by Calimero

Can you also remember why you wanted to be or become a dog?
What is or has a dog that you think you can't be or can't have? Except from the body that is different from the human body?

What is it that you love so much about animals?

That's a good question. I can't remember really. I had a wild imagination and I just have always been really connected to animals. I loved insects, spiders, snakes, frogs, lizards, dogs, cats, birds, horses..anything! I used to turn my bedroom into an imaginary rainforest and pretend like I was one of the animals too.

I think part of it was that I was was such an affectionate child and I associated my dog with being pet, hugged and cuddled. Also, I think, at that time I associated animals with having more freedom than humans to just do what they wanted. I remember that I would pretend to be a dog and I really liked not having to respond do anyone or talk to anyone because "I didn't understand them" heh. Maybe I was onto something. I wanted to cut through the b.s. and just get hugs

I have this really clear memory of actually believing that I could "choose" to be a dog when I grew up. I must have been really, really young.

[moriez]

Thanks for your insights Calimero. It helps me a bit further.

[Calimero]

Originally Posted by StellaBlue

That's a good question. I can't remember really. I had a wild imagination and I just have always been really connected to animals. I loved insects, spiders, snakes, frogs, lizards, dogs, cats, birds, horses..anything! I used to turn my bedroom into an imaginary rainforest and pretend like I was one of the animals too.

I think part of it was that I was was such an affectionate child and I associated my dog with being pet, hugged and cuddled. Also, I think, at that time I associated animals with having more freedom than humans to just do what they wanted. I remember that I would pretend to be a dog and I really liked not having to respond do anyone or talk to anyone because "I didn't understand them" heh. Maybe I was onto something. I wanted to cut through the b.s. and just get hugs

I have this really clear memory of actually believing that I could "choose" to be a dog when I grew up. I must have been really, really young.

It is lovely to read you know.
But the word freedom is important isn't it?
And it tells also a lot about how you felt about how humans communicate. Sometimes we talk to much and we forget to sense....what we need ourselves or what other people may need.

[StellaBlue]

Originally Posted by Calimero

It is lovely to read you know.
But the word freedom is important isn't it?
And it tells also a lot about how you felt about how humans communicate. Sometimes we talk to much and we forget to sense....what we need ourselves or what other people may need.

What you say about communication is interesting, because it very much applies to what I want to do with my life now. I want to teach others about more direct and true communication through spontaneous (and collaborative) painting. I especially want to work with children.

[coLLege kid07]

As a child I wanted to get involved in sport's and at the most hopeful become a professional athlete (didn't happen lol). Right now I'm starting to still head in that direction although I'm not sure if sports will be able to fulfill what I truly want.

Just a different perspective to look at.

[Zwynd]

When I was a child...

I wanted to be me:

I wanted to explore, adventure, create, tell stories and live a beautiful life full of joy.

I never got to be that for most of my childhood and teenage life. I was beaten, shunned, guilt-tripped, and everything else that brought me away from "ME."

I eventually broke away from those people, started healing myself, and following my dreams.

I see this thread today and I notice that what I want today for myself and now strive for every waking moment is the exact same thing I wanted when I was a child.

[Lisa McGregor]

[

QUOTE=Zwynd;216759]When I was a child...

I wanted to be me:

I wanted to explore, adventure, create, tell stories and live a beautiful life full of joy.

I never got to be that for most of my childhood and teenage life. I was beaten, shunned, guilt-tripped, and everything else that brought me away from "ME."

I eventually broke away from those people, started healing myself, and following my dreams.

I see this thread today and I notice that what I want today for myself and now strive for every waking moment is the exact same thing I wanted when I was a child.

[/QUOTE]

I wish you the most beautiful, the most joyful, and the most adventurous and creative life that you could wish for yourself. You deserve it....... we all do.

I admire you so much for moving forward and healing yourself.

Love
Lisa

[Zwynd]

Originally Posted by Lisa McGregor

I wish you the most beautiful, the most joyful, and the most adventurous and creative life that you could wish for yourself. You deserve it....... we all do.

I admire you so much for moving forward and healing yourself.

Love
Lisa

Thank you. =)

[pianoperformer]

Oh wow, this thread is so interesting!

Well, I wanted to be various things. I remember at one point, when i was really really young, wanting to be a policeman, lol. obviously that wasn't very practical.

Besides that, well eveyrone assumed I'd be a pianist, because I started when i was 5, and everyone thought I was very good. Well, I liked it a lot but never threw myself into it like is necessary to become a truly excellent pianist. I tried to do so in college, but just didn't have enough interest to do so.

Otherwise, I remember that science was my favorite subject in school, in adition to math. I remember when I was really young, I would write little science books in braille about everything I knew. I couldn't do anything with them, of course, but it was fun to write out all my knowledge about science onto paper. i was always the one to think about stuff. i remember in first grade, i didn't yet grasp the concept that the earth was round, so asked in class how big the ground was, lol, meaning that I thought there was a point where you'd just fall off, and I wanted to know where that was. Well of course they didn't understand me.

I also remember in middle school, I created (for no reason) a model of a cell. I went by all my notes of the different parts of the cell. I brought it into class once I finished it. I remember one of the students making a derogatory comment about me, saying something like, "of course he'd do that." I didn't really care too much, though. I remember the teacher keeping the model all day to show in his various classes. That was pretty cool.

Of course now I'm a physics and math major, so that worked out pretty well. I wish I had thought of that before, though, so I wouldn't have had to go through two other majors before finding this.

When I was about 12, I started to learn how to program. I really enjoyed that. It contributed to my desire to learn about how things work. I didn't like having people tell me what features to add, though, so professional programming for clients wasn't my thing. I liked starting and stopping projects when I felt like it, but rarely finished projects because I'd get bored and move onto another neat idea.

Anyway, I think science is more my thing, and specifically research, since I love learning as much as I can about everything I can.