When I Grow Up, I Want To Be...

When I was a child, I had a terrible time deciding what I wanted to be when I grew up. Not because nothing interested me, but because everything did. How was I supposed to commit my entire life to one career when there were so many others that sounded just as appealing? What if I made the wrong decision? What if I spent my life trapped in a career I wasn’t destined for? This really worried me. I think that’s the real reason I became a journalist. One day I may be interviewing a psychologist, the next a medical researcher and the day after that, a forensic investigator. I get to live vicariously through them, but I have none of their responsibility. But before I devoted myself to slackerdom, I had big dreams. Here are a few of them:

1. Astronaut
I really liked this one. It sounded exciting, but, alas, I’m afraid of heights, and I’m rather fond of this gravity thing. So, back to the drawing board.

2. Astronomer
If I couldn’t fly to the stars, I figured I could at least I could look at them.

3. Actor
I was pretty determined about this one. I even started college as a theatre major, until I discovered that all of the other actors had egos the size of Jupiter and brains the size of a subatomic particle. And the directors were all crazy control freaks. Or maybe I just caught them all on a bad day.

4. FBI Agent
If only I could be like Mulder and Scully!

5. Archaeologist
What could be more fun than digging in the dirt all day?

6. Figure Skater
Unfortunately, I am totally uncoordinated and have no sense of balance.

7. Blues singer.
Now this one, I could see myself dedicating my life to. However, I cannot sing. In fact, I would be more likely to get people to pay me NOT to sing. Hmmm...now there’s an idea.

TODAY'S QUOTE:

"People don’t choose their careers; they are engulfed by them."

John Dos Passos (1896–1970), U.S. novelist. New York Times (Oct. 25, 1959).