I wonder how many adults actually become what they wanted to be when they were kids?
We all had a vision of ourselves as adults when we were kids. Some profession that was very appealing to us when we first realised that we would have to do some sort of work in the future.
Mine changed several times as I grew up. The process of deciding what I wanted to do with my life all started after visiting the Durban aquarium with my family. My sister and I were really thrilled by the dolphin show and shortly after being splashed by Flipper (I can't remember his real name) we both decided that we would become... wait for it... Dolphin trainers. Yipee! What fun!
This lasted about a year. In that time my sister and I would constantly bicker about who was the first to decide to become a dolphin trainer and try to convince the other not to do the job (so we could have the dolphins all to ourselves). Eventually I backed off, there were plenty of other cool jobs way better than training dolphins (sobs...). I now had to decide on a new future job. Fortunately my parents took us for an air show and in doing so inspired new hope in my young mind.
I would become... a pilot. Woohoo! Take that sis. Flying aeroplanes in stunts and seeing the world from the heavens would keep me occupied for a long time to come. I remember spending hours fantasizing about all the destinations I would visit. I would even deliberately take the the long route on my walk home from religion classes so I could fly my model aeroplane on 'secret spy missions'.
I also recall wanting to become a toy designer and even a cartoonist in my early teens. These were never really obsessions though. The next obsession was car mechanic. I have a really cool uncle who always visited us with his restored old muscle cars and racing tweaked autos. Alas I was now a teenager and my parents wouldn't even consider me studying towards becoming a grease monkey...
I have a theory. I'm sure the individuals who stuck it out and became what they originally set out to be when they were kids are now the happiest adults. When we are young we express ourselves without thinking about consequences. "That's what I'll do, It'll be fun". This childish impulse is probably a better indication of who we are and what we should do with our lives than a well thought out career path made by a brainwashed grade 10 pupil.
Okay the theory has its flaws, I doubt many kids dream about becoming an accountant and many will be disappointed after finding out that they can't work for Santa Clause. You have to admit though, there is something to this...
I guess I need to chat to someone who has pulled it off.
We all had a vision of ourselves as adults when we were kids. Some profession that was very appealing to us when we first realised that we would have to do some sort of work in the future.
Mine changed several times as I grew up. The process of deciding what I wanted to do with my life all started after visiting the Durban aquarium with my family. My sister and I were really thrilled by the dolphin show and shortly after being splashed by Flipper (I can't remember his real name) we both decided that we would become... wait for it... Dolphin trainers. Yipee! What fun!
This lasted about a year. In that time my sister and I would constantly bicker about who was the first to decide to become a dolphin trainer and try to convince the other not to do the job (so we could have the dolphins all to ourselves). Eventually I backed off, there were plenty of other cool jobs way better than training dolphins (sobs...). I now had to decide on a new future job. Fortunately my parents took us for an air show and in doing so inspired new hope in my young mind.
I would become... a pilot. Woohoo! Take that sis. Flying aeroplanes in stunts and seeing the world from the heavens would keep me occupied for a long time to come. I remember spending hours fantasizing about all the destinations I would visit. I would even deliberately take the the long route on my walk home from religion classes so I could fly my model aeroplane on 'secret spy missions'.
I also recall wanting to become a toy designer and even a cartoonist in my early teens. These were never really obsessions though. The next obsession was car mechanic. I have a really cool uncle who always visited us with his restored old muscle cars and racing tweaked autos. Alas I was now a teenager and my parents wouldn't even consider me studying towards becoming a grease monkey...
I have a theory. I'm sure the individuals who stuck it out and became what they originally set out to be when they were kids are now the happiest adults. When we are young we express ourselves without thinking about consequences. "That's what I'll do, It'll be fun". This childish impulse is probably a better indication of who we are and what we should do with our lives than a well thought out career path made by a brainwashed grade 10 pupil.
Okay the theory has its flaws, I doubt many kids dream about becoming an accountant and many will be disappointed after finding out that they can't work for Santa Clause. You have to admit though, there is something to this...
I guess I need to chat to someone who has pulled it off.
3 comments:
i still think that i will be a hostage negotiator!! :p
i like your theory ... perhaps we should all be forced to decide our futures when we turn 10... a new law or something
I wanted to be a vet, then a writer, then a vet, then an academic, then a linguist, then a teacher, then a psychologist, then a philospher (don't tell anyone!) then an actuary...
I'm not sure if sticking to your fist dream is always the best plan, I think we have fantasies about our dream jobs that aren't necessarily accurate, and a lot of people I know (mostly the wannabe doctors) ended up miserable, if they even finished studying in the first place. Better to keep an open mind I think!
If you think about it Helen, what you do now is pretty close to your original plan of becoming a vet...
In any case for a child they would probably fall into the same category.
Even I ended up working with animals which is not EXACTLY training dolphins but closer than i would have gotten had I persued any of my post dolphin trainer obsessions. still...
I guess from a realistic point of view, society would crumble into chaos if we all just did what we set out to from childhood.
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