Then and Now: Life's Work
By singout
@singout (980)
United States
August 23, 2008 8:50am CST
When I was a child I was often asked by grown-ups that famous question: "Hey little boy, what do you want to be when you grow up?" As a very young child my answers were the rather stock answers: "A Policeman", or "a fireman", or "a veterinarian." Later, my choices began to be more refined even as an older child between ages 8 and 12. When people began to comment on my musical talent, I began to think about how it would be to be a musician of some kind, and that is where I ended up to this day; so at an early age I had already developed an idea of what I wanted to be. My questions are these: How many of you actually became what you wanted to be as a child? At what age did you finally decide on your life's work?
3 responses
@skenthal (1020)
• Turkey
23 Aug 08
actually i always wanted to be soccer player or basketball player in my childhood and i really was going to be but then i got injury from my knee and had to give up playing soccer professionally and then i started to study for the exams to enter the university , in turkey you have to pass the exam to enter any university anyway i was thinking about management and law faculties and i won university exams then there was choosing time so i was 17 at that moment and i talked to my parents about that what can i be ? so we talked like all day and i made my decision to study law , now its my 4th year in university maybe i didnt want to be lawyer in my childhood, i even didnt think about that now i am really glad that i am going to be lawyer , even though i havent started to work as a lawyer yet i made my goals for now and reached them and i am glad and happy about it ... 
1 person likes this
@singout (980)
• United States
23 Aug 08
In America you would be referred to as "Late Bloomer" and there is nothing wrong with that. The world is full of college students who are studying general subjects with absolutely no idea what they want to do. But for the knee injury, you actually fulfilled your childhood dreams because you said you had to give up playing soccer professionally. That implies that you actually played prof. at one time. Or did you have to give up your dream? Whatever happened, the point is that you picked yourself up and did something with your life. Congratulations! Thanks for the response, skenthal.
@buldwgz (1489)
• United States
24 Aug 08
Hey, Singout, I like this discussion. I have one similar to it myself, but a little different, check it out if you would. I wanted to be a lot of different things when I grew up, including Batman and a gorilla, neither worked out, though some say the gorilla is still possible, LOL. I guess in some ways I am still not grown up because I am still deciding on what my life's work really is. I actually am still obsessed with being a writer, so, there is still hope.
1 person likes this
@nanayangel (7879)
• Philippines
23 Aug 08
Hi there Sing out!
Yes, even when I was a child, I already know that I want to be a teacher. I love playing school with my friends and their younger brothers and sisters. But when I grew up, I was also influenced by some people and events. I discovered that I am good in writing when I became an article contributor in a regional paper and I decided that I wanted to be a journalist. I got frustrated when I wasn't even able to take the entrance examination in my target university because I had chickenpox so I just settled for Bachelor of Elementary Education, my second choice, in a nearby college.
I got married and had a child. After five years, I realized that I still want to teach that's why I came back to school.
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