When I Grow Up…

What did you want to be when you grew up? Do you remember? My son used to tell us that he wanted to be a Wal-Mart manager, a UPS man and a rock and roll star when he grew up! He was very ambitious! My daughter wanted to be an astronaut. My husband dreamed about being an architect, but for some reason, I never could land on that ONE THING that I was passionate about that I would want to pursue it as a career. I actually joke that I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up! 

I admired the kids I went to high school with that had this very clear image of what they were going to major in, and what their career path looked like. Because that so wasn’t me. I toyed with the idea of being a teacher, but somehow it never felt right. I floundered in college, because I had no direction and no clear goal. So I majored in general business and hated it. Business Law chewed me up and spit me out.  I detested Algebra. I hated Chemistry. I couldn’t understand my Economics teacher, or Economics for that matter. My grades were horrible, and I lost interest. I did however love English, Literature and all of my secretarial classes: Word Processing (is that even still a thing?) Shorthand (which I know is no longer a thing, but I wish I could remember some of it!) and Calculating skills. So that was my college education, books, reading, writing and typing.

And then I fell in love. College career over, I earned my M.R.S. Degree. And even though I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up, I had to grow up and be something anyway. And somehow, even without knowing what I wanted to be, or what I wanted to do, over the next several decades, I developed a resume. My career as a stay at home mom allowed me to develop my creative talents and organizational and business skills when I served in several volunteer organizations. After the kids flew the nest I worked in retail, used my passion for fashion, and honed my communication and customer service skills. (And for the record, I believe that every single person should work in either retail or the restaurant business, if for no other reason than to know how to treat those people that work in that industry!) From retail I went into a business environment, continuing to learn and enjoy different forms of business technology and social media. And now all of that has brought me full circle, and I’m enjoying my new career as an administrative assistant, and I’ve started this blog as a way to share my journey, while writing and telling stories.  I think my Daddy would be happy to know that I finally got his money’s worth from my two years in college. (insert eye-roll emoji here!)

I recently took an informal poll on my facebook page, asking folks what they wanted to be when they grew up. The answers were so diverse: marine biologist, teacher, actor, ballerina, nurse, doctor, artist, writer….and on and on. It was a fun exercise in remembering that person we used to be, and maybe a reminder of things we can still accomplish.

It’s never too late to grow up and be something. And you may actually be several somethings along the way! Life is a journey after all, with many stops along the way. At least that’s been my experience! What about you? Did you always know what you wanted to be? Were you one of those that went straight from high school to college and into your career? Or have you had several careers along the way? I’d love to hear about your experience as a grown up! Thanks for reading!