Image Courtesy of Todd White

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

When I Grow Up...


I wanna be a rockstar.
No, just kidding.

Growing up, a lot of people “know” what they want to be. When I was little, I wanted to be a lawyer and drive a Mercedes Benz. I had no idea what lawyers did, but my parents said I was good at arguing and that’s what I should be, so I went with it. I also thought “Benz” was a type of car Mercedes made. I didn’t know there were things like C and E Class. I just wanted the “Benz.”

In high school, I went back and forth. Marine Biologist. But then someone said “You are either going to spend years on a boat, or work at Sea World” and I buried that dream (no offense to any marine biologists out there. Im sure your job calls for a lot more responsibilities, Im just going with what I was told). One suggested computers, but I was not interested in the world of IT. As senior year grew close, and people thought of college and majors, I was still so unsure of my calling. So I decided Id just go to school and get my degree in business. Then I graduated, and bypassed college altogether and just threw myself into the job world. I worked data entry for a marketing company by day, and coffee shop barista by night. Then I moved onto office manager. Then I moved onto mortgage. Then I ran away from mortgage and moved back to office manager. Now Im 30, wondering what the hell I want to be when I grow up.

I have to say, Im kinda glad I didn’t spend gobs of money on tuition, only to get a degree in something that I probably would end up loathing. Sure, a business degree is great. And sure, I ended up sitting in an office everyday for work. But this just isn’t ME. Unfortunately, Im still trying to figure out what ME wants to do.

Photography? Might be more of a hobby. Writer? I don’t know if I have what it takes. Nursing School? I may not have the attention span at this age for that much college work. I know Baz Luhrman once said

“Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.”

I definitely don’t feel guilty. I just don’t feel like Im doing what Im supposed to be doing. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job. I work for a great, caring boss who lets me do whatever I want while I manage the office, including reading books and writing a blog (well, he doesn’t know about the blog. But I know he wouldn’t be opposed to it). Im definitely not challenged here everyday, but its ok, I don’t need to be right now. This job is giving me the freedom to figure out what it is Im supposed to be doing, for a career. Im just waiting for the inspiration. Where are ya?

Maybe Ill eventually become a stay at home mom, and realize that’s my calling. THAT just kind of freaked me out even saying that. Eh, who knows. I guess Ill just keep coming up with ideas until something sticks.

Tell me, what do YOU do for work, and is it something you love?

18 comments:

  1. I am currently in nursing school, and will graduate in December, but it took me awhile to get here. Wasted a lot of money and time working on another degree beforehand. After though I plan on furthering my education, until I can't anymore! I am really excited to head into the medical field.
    I will say though, that it took a lot of "guts" to just do a 180 from where I was at in life, and choose this path. As corny as it may sound, do what you love.

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  2. You're preaching to the choir girl! I'm 27 & still have no idea what I want to do when I 'grow up'. The place I work for just cut a bunch of ppl so I was demoted (to save them $) & I'm now a Sr. Clerk who gathers info & stats. Totally BORING stuff and I obviously do not love it, lol.

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  3. I agree with Baz Luhrman's comment, the most interesting people never have a clear idea of what they want to do. I'm still in school, getting ever closer to the end of my compulsory British education. I know I want to go to University, but I have a passion for so many things and a desire to learn it all, I just don't know what I want to study. What's more, I have no idea what profession I want to use that degree in...I'm still trying to figure out who I want to be, what type of life I want to lead. Then again, I don't think you ever stop asking yourself those types of questions, no matter how experienced you become.

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  4. i am 35...i worked. didn't like what i was doing. decided to be a stay at home mom...eeck! i can't get back to work fast enough...but what do i want to do??? i am in the boat with ya.

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  5. I'm a stay at home mom. I love it so much but there are definitely days I wish I worked outside of the home. I worked in Insurance for many years before kids. Work was just okay but I truly loved the relationships the most. I miss that friendship that co-workers develop after years & years. Who knows what I will be doing when my kids get old enough for school, but for right now even with the bad days I still think I have the best job & I am so very lucky! Good luck in your search :)

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  6. Oh hell. I'm learning not to beat myself up anymore for not having saved the world by 25. I'm in college now, after a long period of avoiding "higher" education for a time, due to financial constraints, and well, i just plain had no idea what i "should" to commit myself to.
    I think a lot of the problem is, we are so indoctrinated to believe that education means selling yourself to a profession that you are bound to for life. I never thought that I would be one of those people with a degree and hating the field I decided to devote 4+ years of my life to and thousands of dollars of debt. But here i am.
    I say go for whatever u feel like at the moment, however small. Those insignificant things will grow into big things. Plant that seed. Plant it with your finger.

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  7. I've never wanted to do anything else but be a lawyer. Except maybe ice skater or ballerina. I guess I was lucky enough to always know. What I didn't realize though, was how much I would want to do transactional work instead of litigation. When I was younger and even during my first year of law school I wanted to be in that courtroom. Now, I can't imagine anything worse - way too many rules for a legal rebel like me. I'm happier in a boardroom working a big deal :)

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  8. I'm the kind of guy that just goes and does what I want. I just always wanted to be really rich and have a lot of money.

    I have nothing but respect for anyone who just does what they want to, whether it's running a business or just sitting on a couch all day. They key is to just do what the hell you want and enjoy it!

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  9. I laughed at the benz thing Laurnie! What's funny is remember how cool they looked when we were teens? (I'm 29). Now those older benz's look like boxes!

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  10. Lauren it's your sister Liz here's my idea. Honestly Lauren I think you should write. Not books or novels or anything like that but maybe write for a newspaper (although I think that takes journalism school)or a website. Ya know, write about something that interests you.What do you know a lot about? Pop culture? Technology? Relationships? Or if those ideas don't work you could write biographies. That would be cool. You could meet famous people and write about their lives (and the best part is you don't have to come up with any new facts on your own) that also takes a lot of researching but I think your good at that. Or you could write for greeting cards! I don't know I'm just rambling some ideas. Good luck!

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  11. I LOVED what I did for a very very long time. Then I didn't anymore. The industry changed and the company was bought out by Satan.

    I hung in there and was truly miserable to the point of crying all the time. Then one day my new twit of a boss said something to me that pissed me off. So I picked up the phone, called HR and gave my notice just like that.

    Then I got scared! Now I own my own business and am much happier. A bit poorer but no dumb ass telling me what to do because she slept her way to her position. But I still don't think this is my dream job or what I was meant to do and I'm older than you all unfortunately. I always knew what I NEVER wanted to do but what I wanted to do was never that clear to me either. So you are not alone in that quest.

    I'm thinking I'd be damn good at being a large lottery winner!! yep that's my calling for sure.

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  12. Yeah, I could have written this post - except that I'm almost 28. I work in Customer Support for a software company. I have a degree in Marketing (which I hate). I have thought about going back to get a masters in English, but only because it's interesting to me, not because I have any idea what I would do with it after that.

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  13. I landed my perfect job in December after two really horrible ones that made me feel I was destined to be miserable at work for the rest of my life. I'm a consultant and direct a project on global maternal health. I get to work with the most wonderful people and it's an issue I'm passionate about. And I have great flexibility because I work from home!

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  14. I think it just takes time and patience to figure out what you want to do. I was lucky to figure it out at 21 when I headed off to university to pursue it, but afterward I realized very quickly that being educated doesn't always equal working in your field. So I'm a linguist working odd jobs at the moment. I believe that someday I will do what I want to do, and then...watch out! :)

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  15. No I do not. I hate my job. The bad part is I work for my family, so how do I tell them I hate my job?

    Actually, I'm a few months away (if not sooner) from telling them I'm going part-time, so I can be a work at home mom. I want to write (and get paid for it, not just post on my personal blog).

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  16. I have wanted to be an artist all my life. My parents were too poor to send me to college, and too "rich" fo rme to qualify for aid. SO I put myself through massage therapy school at 21,a dn did that for a few years. I was good at it, but it wasn't my passion. I got married, had a baby, adn stayed home with him, babysat a few other munchkins, and then got divorced at 30. I babysat some more, started teaching self defense/fitness classes, and went to school for graphic design. Got a job offer and left school to take it. I'm a graphic designer now, without a degree, heehee, and I am happy coming to work. Dont get paid alot, but I don't dread coming to work because I get to do what I love. I also paint, and last month had my first solo art show and sold a load of paintings! I tell myself, that finally, at 32, I am actually an ARTIST, making money at it, people seeing my work. It's awesome. :) I thank God for the opportunity to do exactly what I love.

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  17. I teach English and I love it!!

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