Astronaut
Matt's post got me reminiscing about being a kid, and what I wanted to do/be when I grew up. I seem to have let go of a lot of my memories of being a kid (I require my nostalgic sister to jog my memory) but this is the best I can reconstruct of the progression:
Age 5: Ballerina. Got a book from a school fair, gazed at the pictures for hours, couldn't think of anything better than getting to wear those dresses. Ages 7 - 10: took ballet lessons. Was noticeably average.
Age 7ish: fluctuated between nurse and air hostess. Nurse because we used to play doctors and nurses all the time and I enjoyed rolling and administering bandages, and arranging the doctor's medical equipment in optimally useful and aesthetically pleasing ways. Air hostess because that's obviously awesome, and you get to hand out sweets. In both cases I think the uniform also appealed. Go figure. (no pun intended)
Age 8-12: not only wanted to be a novelist, but was well dedicated to the pursuit. Took courses, kept notebooks of ideas, read voraciously, pretended to be sick in class so I could write in peace in the sick bay. I don't think I had a particularly clear idea of what life as a writer would look like, or much notion of 'wanting to be famous'; only that I was always writing, and that meant I 'wanted to be a writer'. I think archaeologist made an appearance around this time too.
Age 10: Beth from 'Little Women'.
Age 11: Helen Burns from 'Jane Eyre'. Aside from the fact that both of them die young. But I had a taste for the melancholic even then.
Age 13: Housewife. Preferably a Victorian one, with impeccable morals, huge dresses and keys hanging from my girdle, churning butter and making jam and having washing day on Mondays. Or else maybe a gypsy.
Age 14: Subsistence farmer. Learned the term in social studies.
Age 15: Housewife. Preferably in about 4 years' time. Then babies, soon please.
Age 16: Housewife. Preferably in the 17th century, with a farm. Wished my life was harder.
Age 17: Bible translator. Or basically I'll just do whatever you tell me, God. Especially if it's babies, soon. Or milkmaid.
Age 18: Can you live off ambient keyboard-playing?
Age 19: Can you live off philosophy?
Age 20: Can you live off youth work?
Age 21: Future? What future? Babies would still be good though. Jane Eyre from 'Jane Eyre'.
Age 22: I don't...I just...*an explosion occurs* ... Can you live off philosophy?
Age 23: Can you live off counselling?
Age 24: No. And it's hard, and I'm too cynical. To all of the above. Also I hate money. Waitress. Friend. Seahorse.
Age 25: Potato digger. Professional freelance self. Ha.
* * *
Your turn.
Age 5: Ballerina. Got a book from a school fair, gazed at the pictures for hours, couldn't think of anything better than getting to wear those dresses. Ages 7 - 10: took ballet lessons. Was noticeably average.
Age 7ish: fluctuated between nurse and air hostess. Nurse because we used to play doctors and nurses all the time and I enjoyed rolling and administering bandages, and arranging the doctor's medical equipment in optimally useful and aesthetically pleasing ways. Air hostess because that's obviously awesome, and you get to hand out sweets. In both cases I think the uniform also appealed. Go figure. (no pun intended)
Age 8-12: not only wanted to be a novelist, but was well dedicated to the pursuit. Took courses, kept notebooks of ideas, read voraciously, pretended to be sick in class so I could write in peace in the sick bay. I don't think I had a particularly clear idea of what life as a writer would look like, or much notion of 'wanting to be famous'; only that I was always writing, and that meant I 'wanted to be a writer'. I think archaeologist made an appearance around this time too.
Age 10: Beth from 'Little Women'.
Age 11: Helen Burns from 'Jane Eyre'. Aside from the fact that both of them die young. But I had a taste for the melancholic even then.
Age 13: Housewife. Preferably a Victorian one, with impeccable morals, huge dresses and keys hanging from my girdle, churning butter and making jam and having washing day on Mondays. Or else maybe a gypsy.
Age 14: Subsistence farmer. Learned the term in social studies.
Age 15: Housewife. Preferably in about 4 years' time. Then babies, soon please.
Age 16: Housewife. Preferably in the 17th century, with a farm. Wished my life was harder.
Age 17: Bible translator. Or basically I'll just do whatever you tell me, God. Especially if it's babies, soon. Or milkmaid.
Age 18: Can you live off ambient keyboard-playing?
Age 19: Can you live off philosophy?
Age 20: Can you live off youth work?
Age 21: Future? What future? Babies would still be good though. Jane Eyre from 'Jane Eyre'.
Age 22: I don't...I just...*an explosion occurs* ... Can you live off philosophy?
Age 23: Can you live off counselling?
Age 24: No. And it's hard, and I'm too cynical. To all of the above. Also I hate money. Waitress. Friend. Seahorse.
Age 25: Potato digger. Professional freelance self. Ha.
* * *
Your turn.
posted by Kat | 2/22/2010 01:50:00 pm
7 Comments:
0-9: No concept of the future. Why would you want to do anything other than read and build stuff with lego?!
9-12: Video game programmer
12-the day i got bursary results: Painter (the canvases, not houses kind)
the day after bursary results: Programmer (not restricted to video games).
Apparently i'm embarrassingly single minded.
From discovering military hardware through until about 8: fighter jet pilot, or _maybe_ (sigh) helicopter pilot as a second choice.
8–9: missionary
10–12: (again) pilot
12: realisations that (a) war sucks, (1) learning to fly is really expensive (iv) I'm already nearly too tall to fly fighter jets.
12–15: Missionary pilot. (There are organisations that do this, and it looks super-rad and super-dangerous and just all-round awesome.)
15–16: Architect. Possibly naval architect (just designing boats, not necessarily Navy ones).
(My Poppa was a naval architect and boat-builder. He also flew gliders. My Grandad and Great-Uncle were both in the air force in WW2, although I don't think either of them saw combat. These facts may have influenced me.)
16–23: Missionary. [Cue church's rejection of me followed by my rejection of church.]
23–: "Self-directed." Tool-of-all-trades. Whatever comes next. It will probably involve computers in some capacity, but hopefully as a means to an end, not the end itself.
Also, now: something directly related to being a living physical creature on a living physical planet. Maybe something with trees and animals.
0-4: Cat, robot.
4-6: Superhero, secret agent, detective, know-it-all.
6-8: Musician.
8-11: Writer, cartoonist, "scientist".
11-13: Cartoonist, musician.
13-19: (lots of existential angst over "having to" decide on a career).
19-21.5: ESOL teacher.
21.5-23: "Fuck this."
23-25: "Maybe there's no such thing as a job I'll enjoy; maybe I should do crappy jobs for the rest of my life and try to 'find myself' outside of work?"
25-26: Writer/perpetual student.
26- Musician, writer, teacher?!
Future aspiration: actually get paid to be a musician/writer/similar creative thing.
0-10: Fluctuates wildly between a range of standard male choices and nothing. Lego is generally a greater attraction than a possible ocupation.
11-12: Not a Bookseller, or anything to do with customer service.
13-20: Scientist or Academic, but under no circumstances customer service or anything related.
21-24: Scientist or something science related.
24+: Science and computer related...
0-5: Pre-school teacher or Policeman or Fireman
5-10: Policeman or Fireman or Astronaut
10-15: Special effects and props designer for hollywood movies
15-17: Computer modeller for the special effects industry
17-20: Crazy prosthetics inventor as a means to make my own bionic exoskeleton.
21-25: Medical product designer as a means to develop low-tech medical products for the 3rd world.
26+: Product design manager as a means to implement 3rd world medical device manufacture.
I would still like my own exoskeleton however.
12 - keyboard player like Taylor Hanson from Hanson.
13 - singer like Darren Hayes from Savage Garden.
14 - singer and guitarist like Bryan Adams.
15 - rockstar like John Rzeznik from the Goo Goo Dolls.
16 - Christian musician like Michelle Tumes to save lost souls.
17 - Christian musician like Sara Groves.
18 - Christian musician like Sara Groves.
19 - Christian musician like Sara Groves.
20 - Christian musician like Sara Groves.
21 - Christian musician like Sara Groves.
22 - Christian musician like Sara Groves.
23 - musician like Mariah Carey to reach out to my peoples who have lost somebody.
24 - musician raising awareness about animal rights like Moby/Pink/Goldfinger/Paul McCartney/8 Foot Sativa.
25 - finally grew up and realised that I can't be a musician so might as well just stick with lawyering.
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