My friend Nate is writing a book and asked for some writing tips today on his blog. I think it’s really cool he’s taking on such a big project – one I have no desire to do myself. As I talked to him today about it, I remembered that way back in 8th grade I considered writing a book.
I wrote about two chapters before losing interest. The funny part is that I chose to write a science fiction book. I never read science fiction then or now, so I have no idea where my crazy desire to write in that genre came from.
Then I started thinking about all my childhood interests and how much they’ve changed (or stayed the same) as I grew up. I’ve come a long ways from wanting to be a cheerleader (oh yes, it’s true) but not that far from some of my other career choices.
I wanted to be a . . .
- cheerleader (kindergarten – I think I was infatuated with pom poms or something.)
- dentist (kindergarten – I’m glad I lost this interest. Teeth are gross.)
- teacher (this hit me around 1st grade and stuck with me for a long time)
- astronaut (hmm, perhaps this is where science fiction started?)
- lawyer (5th grade – I’d have been good at this . . . until someone tried to disagree with me.)
- artist (around age 10 – this was after I saw street performers in New Orleans for the first time)
- radio DJ (around middle school – at the time I didn’t realize shy people had no future in radio)
- engineer (this was a fleeting moment in my college career)
- creative writer (high school and college)
- English teacher (I came almost full circle. Still waiting on that cheerleader instinct to kick back in.)
I became a . . .
- grocery store cashier
- high school English teacher
- technical support manager
- technical writer
The important (and amazing) thing is I’m happy. I like my job, because it lets me pull from different interests – even cheerleading (I often cheer when I see good grammar being used in the wild). I haven’t found a way to work in my astronaut interest yet – other than checking out NASA’s photo of the day. I guess that will do for now.
How far is your career path from your original kindergarten dreams?
Wow, what haven’t I wanted to be?
I know for sure I’ve always wanted to be like Indiana Jones, or more precisely like Robert Bakker (a dinosaur specialist) and I want to be an astronaut too (who doesn’t).
More recently, I knew that I’d love to write. My goal, outside of getting my two book ideas published, is currently to write for 1up.com (the best video game editorial staff, in my opinion).
However, so far, I’ve accomplished working as a youth minister, the manager of an ice cream store, and now a local news writer/producer for a radio station…. what could be next?
You did NOT mention HOT STUFF pizza with your BFF:)
Nice. How could I forget my most important career move?