When I was a little kid, and I mean little, about grade two or three, I wanted to be a palentologist when I grew up. Ah yes, the exciting world of international fossil excavation! Fuck I was a strange kid - I mean, how many seven year olds have even heard of paleontology, let along harbour ambitions to be a paleontologist?
A year or two later I'd decided I wanted to be an oceanographer instead; or a zoo keeper; or even possibly a vet. By 15 I'd decided I wanted to be an actor.
Now, theoreticaly, I'm grown up, and I've become a writer, broadcaster and whatever else I am instead.
Actually scratch that, I still don't feel grown up. Nor dod I have any idea of how I've ended up here.
But what about you? What did you want to be when you were a kid?
13 comments:
for som bizarre reason from about the age of five i wanted to be a lawyer, then from the age of 14 i wanted to be a journo, then i finally felt that i wanted to be a filmmaker. Suffice to say, I did make a film, wrote for a couple of publications and now I am involved in the music industry. Still have not managed to cross examine anyone in a courtroom yet.
first I wanted to be a 'ballerina on ice' then a singer, then a professional flautist, then a professional clarenetist (or is it clautist?), then an anthropologist and/or historian, then an actor, then a jeweller/artist, now I want to be a singer and an actor again...
what do I do?
I encrypt Eftpos machines...
I've always wanted to be a writer. So how come I can't submit anything for publication? Some kind of unconscious masochism I suppose. Or that other thing - fear.
When I was very small I wanted to be a farmer because I thought it would be nice to live in the country with all those animals. In Primary school I wanted to be a writer and illustrator. In high school I wanted to be an actor, screenwriter and filmaker.
Now, I don't know ... I make pretty good lattes ...
I wanted to be a palentologist too. Or a train driver, or an astronaut.
And now I'm a writer. Hh.
What didn't I want to be? Astronaut, archaeologist, director (film), actor...the usual. But at one stage or another I also wanted to build robots, be an inventor, a commercial airline pilot, write comic books, be a travelling grifter, run a toyshop. One day I decided I wanted to be a yuppie: I didn't know what a yuppie was, but having heard terrible derogatory things (Die yuppie scum) I assumed they were quite an oppressed sort. Note - I was young and this only lasted a day or so.
I ended up a writer or something.
Catwalk Model, nurse, teacher, marine biologist (until someone informed me that there was a slight chance I wouldn't be spending my days playing with dolphins), forensic psychologist. I even started a psych degree.
I ended up a law clerk. WTF?
i wanted to be an athlete... then i found boys and drugs and decided instead on photography then art... i always did and still do wanna be a lady of leisure... i am in a way.
What a creative bunch we are. I luv youse all. And oh, to see so many childhood dreams of film-making, ballet-dancing, fossil-unearthing airline pilots so sadly dashed! Cruel fate! *sobs melodramatically into hands*
I totally wanted to be a paleontologist for about ten years; later came marine biologist, and then fashion designer. I actually never wanted to be a writer particularly, despite my teachers/parents telling me I should. I guess I showed them!!!1! Oh.
I wanted to be a paleontologist too! This desire was very specifically stoked by an exhibition called "Dinosaurs from China" that came to Melbourne in 1983. I still have the catalogue.
Later I wanted to be a private investigator (too many crime novels!)and then an advertising copywriter. Pretty much the whole time I also wanted to be a novelist.
Now I am a journalist/editor/cultural pundit. A lot of literary culture disgusts me and I don't really want to be a novelist any more, although I would like to get back into writing fiction.
My god, so many would-be palentologists! Lucky we all eventually chose/fell into other careers, or else there wouldn't be enough fossils to satisfy us all!
It was always my brother who wanted to be the paleontologist (I think it was just that dinosaur obsessions were so common around that age). From the ages of 7-9 or so I wanted to be a writer - I would sit in my sleeping bag (because in Roald Dahl's biography he said that's what he did, and I loved Roald Dahl) and try and write stories, and generally try and fashion my life on his. Then there were vague ideas about graphic design and that sort of thing.
Instead I seem to be a weather girl.
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