What did you think you'd be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a nurse (like my mom), a mermaid, a baker, an air force pilot & finally a magazine editor (phone lines are still open, Glamour!).
Right now, I’m managing development of a retail department for an amusement park. It’s not what I thought I would be doing at 26. It’s certainly not a cubicle full of beauty product samples & fashion editorial storyboards. Here’s the problem with real life- it doesn’t ever live up to our dreams.
That list of things I wanted to be tells me what I really wanted was to be creative (baker, mermaid, editor) & command authority (pilot, nurse). I manage a full staff & make all the big decisions from what products the company should sell to who gets hired to what all the retail outlets look like. I also get to design apparel, logos, etc., have them drawn up & put them on the products I think people will love best. I get to shop for a living while using the reasons behind my desire to hold all those other professions (or mythological creaturedom).
Instead of pining for the title you don’t have right now, look for the dreamy elements you did land! Someday, I will be a magazine editor, macaroons. In the meantime, my job is pre-tty fantastic!
What did you want to be when you grew up? What are some common traits of those jobs? Are you using any of them in your current field?
