Many people, no matter how old or young, mature or still growing, wealthy or poor, advanced or beginner, still don’t seem to really KNOW what they want to ‘be when they grow up’.
Do you know?
Here in this mostly anonymous forum, I’d love to know people’s innermost ideas on what they want to do with the rest of their lives. I don’t care how zany or pointless. Just say what would make you feel happy and fulfilled.
Or do we never actually feel happy and fulfilled? Perhaps that is part of the point of the whole living thing.
Some of my many many ideas revolve around travel photojournalism, working with underpriveleged people and animals, and exploring my sexual desires and ideas. [Not all three at the same time, mind you. And not necessarily in that order.] :o
I have no idea on what I want to be when I grow up (I guess I’ll have to grow up first!). I do so many things that at times I have a hard time keeping them straight! Right now my biggest goal is to get my name on the cover of a romance novel.
I’d also like to have some of my glass work in a museum or at least an upscale store.
I’d also like to publish a calendar of my photographic work. I mean, one sold to the public at large, not one I had printed at Alphagraphics just for my family and friends.
BTW great topic! I can’t wait to read other’s dreams and aspirations. I always get ideas for new hobbies when I read what other people want or love to do.
I’ve always told people that my ultimate goal is to have a Ben and Jerry’s flavor named after me.
In the meantime, I’m going to open a family practice clinic somewhere and work on becoming a damn good doctor. I think that to be fulfilled, I need to be respected. People always ask med students if they’re in medicine for the money or the chance to help people, but I don’t think it’s that simple–it’s a combination of helping people, being respected, and, yes, money. We all want all three–it’s just a question of proportion.
And, of course, exploring OfficeGirl’s sexual desires and ideas. (Sorry, I tried to resist, I just couldn’t. )
Veera, so are you not happy and content right now? in a way I think that, if I were to ever feel actually happy and content, that maybe I’d be fooling myself. Yuck. I’m so tired that I can’t properly explain this intuition. Ummmmm
Ok. Let’s say you wake up tomorrow and look around your bedroom and say, “gee wow, I’m totally happy and content. Ain’t it grand being so smiley?”
Well, what then?
Richard Bach says “Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: if you’re alive, it’s not.” [from his book Illusions]
That’s kind of the way I think. As long as we’re alive and kicking, there’s something else for us to tackle. Or maybe I’m just really tired and make no sense whatsoever.
For a moment I was convinced from your post that you were my older brother, who is a doctor. Your tone was very similar to his, and then of course I froze as I read the lines
“And, of course, exploring OfficeGirl’s sexual desires and ideas.”
I mean, yeah our family is pretty open and liberal, but come on!
Richard Bach is too complicated for me. I would like to keep my life as simple and straightforward as possible.
The moment I start thinking about the meaning of life or start on a philosophy, I immdeiately stop myself. why? No philosophy of life will ever be complete. You can go on and on and on an…Just live today and make short term plans. like when I was in my higher secondary I decided to become an engineer. In my senior year I decided to got for a masters instead of a job. Am I happy right now? No!!! why won this CD writer of mine work properly!!! Tell me why, and I might be happy.
and, if I wake up one day and decide I am happy, my life isnt over. I will work to keep it that way and be happy.
AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! what am I saying? I need sleep. Good night!!!
I’m taking my life one day at a time, nowadays. I’m gonna travel more, meet new people (like here!) and just try to enjoy life. I’ve spent most of my life being depressed, shy and angry.
Screw that.
I wanna have some fun…and yes…be happy.
And I eventually want to find someone to share my life with. But there’s no hurry
Ok…careerwise? I want to continue working the PC tech field. Get some certification, and make the money I need to sponser the Sealemon world tour.
A published writer. I hate having to get up and go to work everyday, but I adore writing and vegging in front of my computer.
The coolest mom. I’m already on my way.
Involved in the greatest love affair there ever was, for the rest of my life… (meaning Byron had better pull his head out of his pompous ass… but we won’t go into details.)
An inspiration to others, and the driving force behind my soulmate’s will to live.
(That’s not too much to ask, is it?)
I love this question! Objectively, I’m a grownup but it sure doesn’t feel like it.
This could change, but my current dream is to simplify. I want a lot less STUFF, responsibility, drains on my time and energy, and a lot more tranquility.
Okay (deep breath), I want to be a pet sitter. When people go away, I would take care of their critters; NOT a vet, because I’m not even remotely qualified for that. But I could watch over their homes and pets for them. I like animals of all kinds–yes, even snakes, mice and lizards–and find a lot of satisfaction in caring for them. After years of renovating an old house, I can troubleshoot just about any household emergency that comes up. It could be a service to people, knowing their homes and animals are well cared for, and it’s something i’d love doing.
It will be years before I can even think of retiring, but it makes a nice dream. There would be time to do a lot of reading, maybe some more writing, and just enjoying small pleasures.
Okay, it’s off the wall, but that’s what I’d like to be when I finally grow up.
Funny how sometimes what we want to be when we grow up actually changes when we do grow up, isn’t it?
I used to want to be wildly famous. A rock star, an actress, a writer, whatever. As I started to get older, I began to realize that happiness was more important. So, now I’m actively working on being happy. I’ve got a good husband, a really cool kid, a good job that I actually like (most of the time), and things are going fairly well.
A small confession, though…my good husband also happens to be a really, really good guitar player, and I think my daughter has inherited some of his talent. So if I wind up being the wife & mother of a couple of wildly famous people, well, I could live with that.
Tveblen – that’s not so far out there. I’d love to be able to leave my pets in my home with a good sitter when I go away. It would have to be someone that could care not only for my babies (dog, 3 cats, warm-water tropical fish) but someone who could deal with my 150 year old house with it’s cranky toilet and such. Oh, yeah, and the 100 or so house plants!
My friends do what they can but they have homes and pets too and can’t be here all the time. My dog needs that. She would be in panic if there wasn’t someone home at night with her. She goes to a kennel and the cats and fish just have to deal with part time sitters.
Get into one place, get a good reference and believe me, if you are honest (don’t steal or snoop in the house you are in) you could make quite a good living (if you are in a relatively large city). Check in the yellow pages for House Sitting and see if you can arrange an interview.
I think that’s a great thing to want to do! No, it’s not rocket science but it is a needed skill that few people have.
Cristi – I don’t want to be famous as a writer (not that you were talking to me), I just want one, just ONE book on that shelf at Barnes and Noble to have my name on the spine. Not for the fame just so I can look into myself and say, “Yeah, I did that”. I’ve published else where but that to me that would be a biggie! My name on a romance novel… my theme song “Paperback writer”. Oh yeah!
I have done a little bit of that, but that was in a very non-progressive town who were closing down, not starting up.
I don’t care too much in which kind of role, but a little bit of acting/writing/art would have to be apart of it.
I’ve shifted focus from working for Industrial Light and Magic, but Special Effects are still a craving. And the new Star Wars movies are gonna be made very nearby, so…
And my other hope for my future is that I don’t want to die lonely.
My problem is that I want too many things. To write the great American Novel. To write the Great American Funny Cookbook and spin that off into a cooking show and a line of cookware. To be a great photographer. To be a radio talk show host. To be a public speaker of some kind…give speeches that inform and entertain.
Those are the top ones, in no particular order. If a fairy godmother told me they would grant me ONE…gosh…it would be really hard. Maybe I should think about that…
Stoidela – I don’t know if this counts as far as the public speaker that informs and entertains but I’ve really loved a lot of your posts out here. Especially about the losses you’ve suffered in the last few months.
What you shared meant a lot to me and made me think about myself. I don’t know what it means to you but it meant a hell of a lot to me. Especially when you understood about the pain I was in that one night over my brother. A lot of other posters would have just flamed me and walked away. You understood, posted, and left me with something to think about.
IMHO, you are one of the main reasons I’m here. You rock! I still think about your loss and appreciate my huggy-muffin dog even more than I did before. You will always be one of my favorites, even if you flame me. You share things that I and others can relate to. So, in a way, you’ve done one of the things you wanted to do. Made speeches that entertain and inform. That’s a lot. Thanks.
“And my other hope for my future is that I don’t want to die lonely.”
From the little I’ve seen of you, you have so much to offer the right person. Okay, totally cliche but strangely true.
Also, I’ll be rooting for you to land a part in one of the new Star Wars movies. If you promise to remember us little Dopers when you’re big and famous…
Stoidela-
“My problem is that I want too many things.”
Amen! That’s why I always end up getting stuck just looking out the window saying, “Which to choose…”
I always wanted to be a veterinarian when I was growing up and got accepted to a very good school for vet medicine and didn’t go. I am still kicking myself. That would be my ultimate dream. My husband keeps telling me to go back to school and go for it, but I feel like I’d be retirement age by the time I finished. Right now I just make up for my aspirations by keeping my own zoo at my house. Lot’s of pets.
TVeblen, I’ve had a pet sitter watch my animals that stayed over at my house. It was GREAT. She took care of all my animals, watched my house, fed my birds and watered my plants. It was nice to call home and see how all my “kids” were doing and comforting to have them be at home instead of a kennel. She charged $50 a day but since she’s the ONLY one I could find that would stay over night, I have no idea if that is low/high/normal. I think it would be a great job! Definitely look into it if you are interested, I think there is a good market for this area. I’ve refered my pet sitter to lots of friends and co workers.
Byz, I also make stained glass and would love to have a shop someday. I could make glass while I tended to the store. I would sell other artists glass and have other interesting and different items to sell along with really cool books. I think this is a more plausible goal than vet school.
There are so many interesting people with a wide range of talents, maybe we could all…hmmmm I’ll have to think some more about this and get back to you all…
I would love to be made whole. Be it by someone or something.
Right now I have a great job and a lot of other pleasantries. But sometimes you just find something you want and realize that it’s not just an issue of ownership, but there is something you really lack.
I love the feeling when I find something I truly need, and I love it even more when I finally end up getting it.
Don’t let the loveless ones sell you a world wrapped in grey.
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