Changes are a guarantee in life. As we grow up we change schools, colleges, careers. People come and go from our lives. Our situations go from good to bad, to good again. Our interests change, and it can be good thing. After all, it’d be a little weird if I was still into playing with Hot-Wheels or stuffed animals.
Since some, not all, of my interests have changed since I was a kid… what I wanted to be when I grew up changed as well. As a kid, I specifically remember wanting to be a lawyer.
Well… that did not happen.
Of course, I would probably be in law school right now if I still wanted to be a lawyer. I am only 24 after all. That aside, if the only difference in my life right now was that I was in law school, I know I’d be miserable.
Why?
Well, to be honest, I never really had the passion for learning about the law and making things change. After my interests started changing I learned that in order to become a lawyer there’s a lot of research that goes along with it, and I’m just not up for it. My interests and talents lie in the creative arts of shooting and editing video, photography and writing. When it comes to those areas, I’ll do all the research I can for learning new techniques and about the new gear, but when I do that it doesn’t feel like work – it’s fun.
While I’m sure even a person who is passionate about being a lawyer still finds their work to be grueling at times, if they truly love what they do, it won’t seem as bad as it would for a person such as myself.
Sometimes I look back and wonder why I even thought of being a lawyer when I grew up. I was always an imaginative child, creating stories and games… plus there was the fact I really enjoyed Legos. In fact, my enjoyment of Legos lead to my 13-year old self wanting to become an architect, but that obviously didn’t pan out either. I’m sure that imagination can be a good thing to become a lawyer (how, I do not know), but it’s just not me.
It was after a while that I remembered the reason I wanted to become a lawyer as a child… because my mom had always wanted to be one. I guess my younger self figured that since my mom never did go to law school, I would do it for her. As much as I love my mom, I’m glad I grew out of the ‘wanting to be a lawyer’ phase. Besides, I know my mom would rock that job much better than I ever could.
So there you have it, even career interests change as we grow up. We find out what we love and what makes us cringe, and that we’re not entirely the same person we were as a child. Changes are inevitable… we just have to learn to roll with them.
What did your younger-self want to be when you grew up?
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Futures Past.”
orangeowldiaries 
For me, it was a teacher. That never changed until I first learned about the possibility of being a journalist in grade 8. From then, it was always a toss-up. Teacher’s college would have been a breeze for me. I was good at learning, I was good at teaching – there was very little risk. Journalism on the other hand was high-risk. While I love to write, and I know I’m good at it, being a strong writer doesn’t necessarily mean you would make a good journalist. There is a lot more involved in journalism, and it’s not the same as writing from your heart. At least, not always.
In the end, journalism won out, but I wouldn’t be surprised if, in years to come, I wander back towards the teaching path. I still like the idea of it, and have even considered taking more schooling and becoming a teacher regardless of my writing career.
Yeah, journalism is a tricky field. I’m still considering it, but I’m pretty sure I’ll stick to making videos. That would be pretty cool to go back and teach eventually… I mean, why not? My best friend just finished her degree in Elementary Education… what grade range were you interested in teaching?
Depends, I’m torn between Gr 11 and 12 English, or teaching at the college level in a journalism program.
Both sound awesome. I think it’s easier to work with older students than younger ones… so you picked the same group I’d teach (if I was good at teaching, ha).