Intentions and Aspirations

All of us had aspirations as children. If we didn't, we were probably forced to come up with some, since adults only know two questions to ask children: "what's your favorite subject in school" and "what do you want to be when you grow up?"

Some of us achieved those dreams, some of us dreamed different dreams as we grew, and some still hold on to them, waiting for a day when we can make them happen.

FOCUS: What did you want to be when you grew up, vs. what do you do now? How did you get from there to here?

 

As a kid I wanted to be an entrepreneur like my dad. Throughout middle school and high school I got involved with lots of small ways of making money on my own terms (before anyone asks, yes they were all legal), from hustling up a few hundred dollars in an afternoon to setting up a self-supporting business that made me about $30K in two years with minimal personal involvement (I was 16 at the time).

I think anyone involved in business (by which I mean entrepreneurs, not someone in finance, mega-corporations, etc.) can tell you that business essentially involves developing a few key skills (mostly character traits) that you can then apply to almost any business venture. Once I got to college I realized that making money was not something that particularly interested me, and that I wanted to pursue certain ideals instead. But, I see entrepreneurship as a life skill that I can rely on throughout my life, and I'm 100% confident that I can return to business at any point in my life and succeed. I'm not opposed to returning to it eventually, it's not where my attention is right now, but it's a great feeling to know that I have the knowledge and skills to make that happen if I decide that's what I want.

 

I went from rock star, to inventor, to video game maker in elementary school.

In highschool I wanted to be a lawyer but then realized I would have hated every aspect of the job while in college and actually researching that shit two years too late, and went back to video game maker (or at leas programmer)

I gave up the dream mostly on how hard it is to break into the industry that burns out people so easily on the coding end and went into Sharepoint administration at a grocery chain, though I think on some level I'd still jump at the oppertunity to make video games even for 12 hour days and no increase in pay, for no real reason whatsoever.

 

I really wanted to be a major league baseball player. Like, really bad, until I was about 15. I was much farther behind my classmates and boys my age. Until that age, I was ahead of most kids I was playing with, always was an all-star starter. I played on 13 year old team that won locally, at State, Division, and got booted out in the Region. (Several guys on that team signed professional contracts or played college ball.) Alas, two things stopped by dream: I did not have the stand-out skills or physical development to achieve it on natural talent; I had too many other interests and not enough singular drive to work hard and focus only on baseball.

The chances of actually making it to the Show are so small, that I don't regret how things turned out, but I do wonder sometimes how things could've been different.


Totally unrelated: This never really got mentioned anywhere else that I saw. So, DrFrylock's new Mod job is bumping / creating more threads and SheGirl got fired?

 

I've always wanted to be a writer, and now I'm an unemployed attorney.

Along the way during high school and college I heard a lot of "You enjoy writing? Then you should be a lawyer, they write a lot," from family, teachers, etc. So between that, the demonization of writers (aka: "starving artists"), and the conventional wisdom that beautiful women drop their panties at the sight of a JD (false), I went to law school. Then, the economy hit, I got laid off (and I'm sure my complete lack of interest in legal practice didn't help save my job), and now I'm back trying to figure out a way to make a living as a writer.

Suggesting that someone who likes creative writing should be a lawyer because lawyers write a lot is about as dumb as saying someone who wants to be a chemist should be a line cook at the Waffle House, because frying an egg is a chemical process.

 

I was a pretty practical kid. While my friends and sisters only aspired to be princesses or pop stars, when I was growing up I wanted to be a vet due to my love of animals. That changed to doctor as I got a little money are perceived that doctors were making lots more money. So off I go to college as a pre-med student and damn if those classes and studying didn't get in the way of my good time. I went to a pretty competitive college with quite a few starry eyed 18-19 year olds with dreams of becoming a physician. My classes were graded on a curve, which is great when 400 students take a chemistry exam and the highest grade for all of them is a 65%, making your 55% a solid B, not so great when you have 15 students in a chemistry lab and they only give out a certain number of A's and B's making your 94% a C. Plus that whole ranking system is kind of cut throat and I was more interested in fun than honing my killer instincts. So long story short, I majored in Sociology. After graduating and working at various jobs in various large corporations I realized that my passion had nothing to do with meetings all day and corporate bullshit, but still did involve health care. So, I went from a job making pretty decent money to enrolling in nursing school. Took the second degree much more seriously, graduated with honors, worked as a nurse for a couple of years and went back to school to get a masters so I could be an NP. I graduated this year and just started my new job in Feb. So, for those of you unfamiliar, I can still see and treat patients, but no MD after my name with all of the crazy hours that goes along with it, have a collaborating physician who I can ask questions to if I get into a bind, can't do things like surgeries and stuff. I don't make crazy money like I thought a physician did when I was a kid, but I make a decent living balanced with a decent work/life balance. So, overall, I would say that things worked out well for me.

 

I'm one of those cute little stories where "I always knew I wanted to be a writer, and now I am one." I have been actively pursuing writing as a profession since I was in third grade, and writing since first grade. In middle school, I became a little less of an idealist and wasn't entirely sure I'd be able to live entirely off of writing books, so I tried coming up with alternative ways to do that and came up with the standard "I'm going to be an English teacher" idea. But then in high school, I realized that my obsession with magazines was the perfect solution and that was my goal. I went to a school where I could major in magazine publishing. I graduated in May and so far I have actually been able to move to Brooklyn and support myself off of writing and magazine related jobs alone. I have 3 freelance writing gigs and my second unpaid internship at a magazine. I've written a book and am going to start shopping for agents because what the hell do I have to lose? Sure, I routinely freak out about money and am terrified of crashing and burning and moving back in with my dad, and I may or may not be desperately looking for day jobs with more steady hours...but the fact that I've been able to do this right out of school is something that I try to remember to be proud of every day.

I'm awesome.

 

I always wanted to be an actor and enjoyed writing on the side. Now I'm a writer.

 

Veterinarian, Singer, Actor, Writer, Lawyer, Teacher, than writer again, followed by journalist, magazine editor, then novelist. I'm still a professional student, but I'm going to school to be an English teacher while becoming a novelist. I'm attempting to become Stephen King.

 

SGEDIT: Done deal.

 

Focus: I wanted to be a pro snowboarder, was on local competitive teams, sent out sponsor-me tapes of me dropping cliffs and hitting urban rails, etc. I got local shops to give me gear, and I got to demo a lot of new boards, but never got paid or actually sponsored. Then I saw Travis Rice switch 540 Chad's gap (120ish ft., with a tiny 20ft landing; undershoot and hit a rock face, overshoot and flat land, miss to either side and hit a tree). That was where snowboarding was heading, and I value my life a little too much to push it that far. Now I'm a couple thousand miles from the nearest ski resort, but when I do get to the mountain it's akin to a beer league approach, a lot more enjoyable being able to relax.

 

When I was a kid, I felt confused, sort of without purpose, anxious, and had no idea what I wanted to be when I grow up. And a little scared, because it seemed like all the other kids knew what they wanted to do when they grew up.


Now that I've sort of grown up, I feel confused, sort of without purpose, anxious, and have no idea what I want to be when I grow up. And a lot of scared, because it seems like all the other pseudo-grown-ups know what they want to do now that they've grown up.



Movin' on up in the world.

 

True conversation:

Her: What do you do?

Me: I work in a law office.

Her: Oh, you're a lawyer?

Me: No, thank the fuck Christ.

Her: [hands me a beer, puts her tongue in my mouth]

If you knew me in real life, you'd know I couldn't possibly make that shit up.

Focus:

I wanted to be a lawyer. Now, I'm a bum. I win.

 

I always wanted to be a star in the music industry. I lacked the motivation to pick up a guitar and my lacked the natural talent to sing anywhere out of really drunk karaoke, so at one point in my flakey life I got into designing sets for plays and bands (The band TVT Records band Sevendust asked me to design one for them for their Home Tour but rejected it for something simpler). That, however did not pay pretty much ever. Now, I D.J.

I highly recommend to you all to at least try it as a hobby (unless you hate it entirely). Don't get me wrong: no matter how skillfulof a D.J. you are, it will never be the same measure as being a master of guitar, piano or drums. However, it's easier than it looks and it's loads of fun so matter who you're doing it for, especially if you're just killing stress at home. I used to do night clubs and bars which I enjoyed very much, but am now a "Mobile DJ" (the asshole that does you wedding) because the money is three times as good.

 

I'm 28, with a Bachelors degree in e-commerce and marketing. I still have no job and have NO idea what I want to do, other than leaving S.A. as soon as I have enough money to be able to get by for a month or 6 overseas (I estimate it'll take me that long to find some sort of work) and being in possession of a decent (i.e. British) passport.

As a kid, I'd always wanted to be a sports star, didn't really matter what sport, but that was fucked from the start due to health issues*. As for other jobs, had no clue then, still clueless now.


*it's still not AIDS, Frebis.

 

I wanted to join the army and be in the air cavalry. Then I found out that my vision is so bad that there is no way I could ever fly anything for the military. Also, I discovered I have a problem with authority, so I guess it works out.

 

I grew up watching my dad work as a salesperson and eventually become the marketing manager of a medium-sized business. He did work long-ass hours and traveled a lot, but the work seemed interesting and I liked how he always seemed to be interacting with people. The biggest thing was that he was always happy with his job and it provided well, so naturally I decided at a young age that I would eventually be a "businessman."

Lo and behold I do marketing and sales for a (fucking awesome) startup and I'm in school for marketing and entrepreneurial management (funny how that works out). I had also been shooting since I was very young and now have a small business that is basically a hobby that pays for my hunting and shooting (every little kid wants to play with guns and now people pay me to do it for them).

I was always motivated in high school and have had to work even harder now, but I'm happy and think this is something I could very feasibly continue doing. It took a lot to get into the school I'm in and that has helped considerably, but it's my work ethic and the salesperson in me that has done the rest.

 

I always wanted to be idly wealthy. I had some plans about inventing underwater computers, being a marine biologist or doing something involving science - but all of those things were ultimately just ways to get rich and not have to work.

I have no idea how the fuck I ended up running corporate IT infrastructure.

 

I played the bass in Jr. High and High School and I really wanted to be a musician. For years I dreamed about traveling around the country playing shows and banging female fans. I made a CD with my high school band and played some parties and our homecoming dance but at the end of the day there were so many more talented bassists and more musicians than you can shake a stick at and that dream died.