Sometime this year I was talking with my family about the things I wanted to be when I was younger. The reason for this was that my niece was trying to decide what to take up for college and the topic of dream jobs came up. I ended up telling her that in my case, I did not end up where I wanted or expected to. After talking to several friends, I realized that many of us did not end up in jobs that we dreamt of having. There are people who did, but they are a lucky few. It made me wonder: how many of us ended up with our childhood dream jobs? How many of us discovered other dreams growing up in different paths? In this post, I will be sharing some of the jobs I dreamt of having as a child and what happened that made me divert from it. Let me know if we have anything in common in the comments section!
If you take a look at my career journey, most of my work life was in a career I never expected. I took up two degrees. I majored in the Arts and in Marketing. I did not imagine that I would end up working in an Administrative position for years. I did not even think I would ever become involved in HR and in Business Development. I did not take a course related to these things!
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| Photo by cottonbro studio |
I can't help but laugh whenever I look back on the careers I wanted to have when I was a child. Some of my dreams were for introverts, but some were completely extroverted in nature. Even then, I did not have any dream of being in the industries or careers I have worked in so far. How odd is that?
Anyway, here are some of the jobs that I wanted to have once upon a time:
Nun
People who know me laugh when I say this. This is a childhood dream that came from growing up in a religious family. It was a given that one of us kids would dream of becoming a nun at some point. Unfortunately for the nunnery, I discovered cute boys and romance novels as I got older. That meant that this idea fizzled away like it never happened. Still, I had an aunt who was a nun who even in my adult life encouraged me to enter her convent (is that the right term?). Still a hard pass at the moment.
Archaeologist
I have always had a fascination with history, so this was something I dreamt of as a child. I wanted to go on digs, study history, see historical places and artifacts, and learn from them. This was something that also had to die a natural death (so to speak). I learned that I was allergic to dust and had asthma so this is not good for me health-wise.
I'm still fascinated with archaeology to this day. I tend to satisfy my curiosity with it by watching related videos online. When it comes to this interest, National Geographic is my friend!
Museum Curator
When I learned that my asthma could mean the end of my dream as an archaeologist, I had to change plans. I thought that being a museum curator would be the next best thing. I would still encounter history but from the safety of an (air-conditioned) office. Since I love art as well, I thought this was a good choice. Unfortunately, I did not know how to go about this so I never took any course that would help me to get to this path.
Athlete
Before I discovered that I was a sickly child, I wanted to be an athlete. My first dream was to be a track and field athlete. I remember loving to run back when I was younger. When the doctors told me I was not healthy enough to do so I had to stop. I tried to keep up the dream in high school by learning gymnastics without my parents knowing about it. I even became a cheerleader in college. But those dreams had to stop when I got sick again. Being sporty will always remain a dream for me that will be forever unfulfilled.
Media Related Careers
Another thing I wanted to do was be in front of the camera or be on stage. I enjoyed acting when I was younger, and I dreamt of one day being the next Oprah Winfrey. But I also wanted to do things behind the scenes, like direct, produce, or even write for movies or TV. Part of me still wants to do the latter part. I would love to pitch a show for Netflix or something like that. It is a dream that I would hope to make happen if I can.
Because of this dream, I tried auditioning for hosting, modeling, and newscasting jobs. I participated in theater and acted in stage plays. I volunteered as an actress for my friends who were taking film classes in college. I did what I could to enjoy this interest but moved on to other things. Acting and being in the entertainment industry is not the most stable thing to do. I wanted to do something a little more stable and decided to let this one go.
Beauty Queen
The Philippines loves pageants. This is why when I was a little girl I dreamed of becoming a beauty queen. I would wrap blankets around myself and pretend they were evening gowns. I'd walk around the room pretending I was doing my walk as the new Miss Universe.
As I grew older, I realized that I was never going to grow tall enough for this. I also lost my interest in this because there were other things I wanted to do. It's still fun watching pageants though, that's something that I will always enjoy!
Artist
My father loved art. He told me that when he was younger he used to draw and paint. When I was little he was into photography. This was when photos were always on film. Because of his influence, I loved to paint and draw when I was younger too. I wanted to be an artist when I was in high school but I got intimidated when I took art classes. There were so many amazing people and I felt that I was not going to live up to what they can do. This is still a hobby, but I would likely never do this as a professional.
Writer/Author
This is one of those dreams that I still hope to make into a reality. I have always loved to read, and I have always enjoyed writing. One day I want to be able to write and publish the book ideas I have. I hope that one of those books becomes the idea that I pitch to Netflix too (see previous dream job). This is one of the reasons why I decided to take on a job with lower pay. I wanted to have more time and freedom to make use of my time off to write. It's something I did not have an opportunity to do at a job with higher pay and responsibility. Now that I have that time, I'm working on this dream and I am hoping I can finally make this a reality.
Coffee Shop Owner
This started when I discovered coffee as a young girl. I saw shows where people would be in coffee shops and I dreamed of having one of my own too. Even when I got older, this was something that I wanted to do. It didn't help that I became a fan of the K-drama Coffee Prince later. It made me dream of doing this even more!
I don't have a coffee shop yet, but it's still something I want to have in the future. I have always wanted a small, cozy one. Something that feels homey and comfortable. A place that would feature Filipino coffee and delicacies as a specialty. Something that would have the occasional open mic/acoustic nights too. Some day.
As I said, my dream jobs were from one extreme to another. But that’s what it is about dreaming right? You can think of anything being possible, even if it sometimes does not make sense. I love that I had a lot of dreams. Even if they were all over the place, the fact that I had dreams is a good thing. Dreams give you hope. And hope makes you look toward more positive things and optimistic thoughts. In these crazy times, we all need to value the art of dreaming and how it can make us strive for what makes us happy.
What about you? What did you dream or want to be when you grew up? Did you manage to achieve it? Share your story in the comments section with me today!
If you can understand Tagalog, I have embedded an episode of the Fandesals Podcast here. The episode is about childhood dream jobs too! While you're at it, please like, subscribe, and leave a comment on the Fandesals socials! I hope you enjoy the episode!
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