Thursday 4 September 2014

LIFE: The Things I Wanted To Be Growing Up


Little did that girl with her Shirley Temple curls know she'd end up living in America, neither did she really know what she wanted to do with her life, at least not since age 15. I somewhat floated between ideas and then around university and floated back out again. Sometimes it makes you wonder how life would have turned out if I had of stuck with either of my first dream jobs.

Joining the Royal Air Force
Growing up with a father who loves planes it was probably a natural thing that I wanted to joining the RAF. We use to attend the Elvington Air Show, visit all the plane museums around the UK that I looked up to those mechanical birds with such awe and I wanted to be part of it, I wanted to fly one. It wasn't really until starting senior school that the idea of joining the RAF started to fade, I can't pin point what it was exactly, but I'm not the best at taking orders, or discipline and having to get glasses probably just stuck the nail in the coffin. RAF life probably wouldn't have been the best for me but I still wish I could fly a plane.

Archaeologist
For this I blame Time Team - a show that was always on every Sunday evening while eating tea (basically if your unfamiliar it was a show based on a 3 day archaeological dig somewhere in the UK). I think it was a short lived idea, that and hating soil under my nails was probably too off putting. 

Journalist 
Teacher, friends, family - everyone use to say I would be a great journalist (since having a blog that isn't loaded with followers I'm somewhat doubting their positivity towards this idea in hindsight), I even did my work experience in year 10 at the local newspaper. I followed the editor, the photographer, the journalists and the sales team around. My articles were printed, my name was out there. And then the idea was dead and gone. Maybe because it was a weekly paper or just because our area was kinda rural and not that much happens, there wasn't all that much rushing about that I had imagined. Then again once I do something once and I can tick it off my list, the idea kinda fades.

The i'll be an illustrator, graphic designer, teacher, anything phase
Year 11 through to completing my A-Level was a big I don't know phase. I went with ideas teachers throw at me - illustrator, graphic designer, geography or sociology teacher, I started to become a bit lost - at the time when I really could have done with some advice, there was non going around (we did have career advice in school but that seemed to stop around year 11 - it was never an opinion when I could have done with some in year 12 and 13).

Academia
Jump forward four years and mid way through completing my MA fellow students and lecturers were suggesting doing a PhD and giving my life to academia. It was something I could see myself doing but the money side worried me - hell I was a working class kid, the first in my family to complete a BA yet alone and MA, and I always doubted if I was smart enough to even do that extra MA year. Either way I missed the opportunity to stick in a PhD proposal for that year and the idea kinda floated away.

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Since leaving university I've done the retail, the pharmacy work and now I work for myself reselling vintage things. From a dream of a 10 year old of flying fighter jets, selling vintage is a big jump but having a passion and a love for vintage it certainly fits me better. I work long disjointed hours, certain months I'm run off my feet and can never catch up and having to rely on myself is both great but a challenge and biggest thing, I love it.

So what did you want to be when you were growing up? Did you get to live out your childhood dream job?

30 comments:

  1. I've been thinking of doing a similar post soon- because like you I've changed my mind a fair few times! I remember being in class aged seven and probably 3/4 of us wanted to be in the police for some reason- although one joker said he wanted to be a burglar... For a long while I wanted to be a vet, and tried to convince myself that a cat allergy wouldn't stop me being a small animal vet so long as I could earn enough to buy a daily supply of antihistamines! I eventually settled on being a doctor, and for now the ambition is to be a psychiatrist although I'm not ready to lock myself onto a set career path just yet, I want to see what else interests me in medicine.
    Jennifer x
    http://www.ginevrella.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. That's good - especially to keep the doors open and see what else interests you. And could you imagine all those antihistamines!

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  2. I wanted to be all sorts of things when I was a kid, ballet dancer, astronaut, palaeontologist - I still don't know what I want to do :)

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    1. See all yours are so fun i love them! Being a paleontologist would have been an awesome job - imagine if they named a fossil of some unknown creature after you!

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  3. The first "dream job" I remember was to become a waitress when I was 4 - kinda glad I didnt stick to that.
    I then for a long time thought I wanted to be a coreographer, which is probably just as well that didnt happen!

    Now I work in nowhere near any of my dreamjobs as a kid, I didnt even know about what I do now. I have come to realise that I am not really that bothered with what I work with, as long as I dont hate it (which I dont) and that it earns me a living enough to live on (which it does)

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    1. That's true, I think as long as you like (or if you love it even better) and you have people you can get along with while doing so that's enough too - that got me through pharmacy work although it was super stressful at times.

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  4. Oh my goodness you are so darn cute!! I remember you writing on my blog that you wanted to be in the Royal Air Force! I think being a journalist would be neat... stressful I'm sure... as you know I quit college but when when I was little I wanted to be an art teacher! I still sort of think that would have been a cool job, but just the whole having to get a degree and go to school... ugh, I just can't do it. lol

    Jessica
    the.pyreflies.org

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    1. Yeah lots of people from my school never went to university, actually very few of us went, most went into land/farming jobs - joys of rural life! Sometimes I would really have liked to have been a teacher - sharing knowledge and inspiring, but I just imagine standing in front of kids a daunting prospect!

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  5. Such a lovely post! I love reading the things you wanted to do & your reasons behind them!
    Also, adorable photo!
    ...may have to still this post in the near future.

    -sarah xo

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  6. I love that you wanted to be a million different things! I went through a phase when I wanted to be a fighter pilot. I honestly don't know why I wanted to do that but it's still a wistful memory. Ha ha! I also wanted to be a teacher since I was young and forced my sister, friends, and stuffed animals to sit still and learn while I taught. I did actually grow up to be an elementary school teacher and have two degrees that go along with that. But then I changed my mind and switched to retail for a while. Now I'm contemplating another career jump and I've realized that for some people it's better if life has more of a free flow element to it.
    :) Alice

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    1. Def - knowing how sort my attention span is I would always worry about going head long into a "career" and getting bored within years. Good luck with your career change!

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  7. I wanted to be a Naval Aviator.

    Do you still like planes? If so, you need to go to Selfridge this weekend. And if you haven't been down to Dayton...you must go down there.

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    1. Nah not so much these days I will be honest!

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  8. I've always wanted to be a teacher, and I am, but I'd also love to complete an MA soon.

    Lizzie's Daily Blog

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    1. That's great that you got the job you wanted! What would you do your MA in? I loved doing mine - best year I had education wise at university for sure.

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  9. Great post! I wanted to be a writer for so long then a teacher. Now I have no idea! Being an antique dealer does sound quite appealing. :)
    theemeralddove21.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. I wish I was playing with antiques but nothing as expensive just yet just old vintage postcards and cookbooks for the most part. One day though, working to eventually have a booth in an antiques mall some day :)

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  10. I totes wanted to be an archaeologist too! For the longest time I wanted to be a doctor, then an engineer, then a teacher.

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    1. Wow what a variety! I bet it would have been an awesome rush finding something in an archaeological trench!

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  11. For years I went back and fourth between wanting to be a ballerina or a scientist. Haha! Eventually I decided to go with the science field because it was something I had dreamed of doing since I was little. But a few years into my science career I've realized that my dream job is actually to be a photographer! Oh well, maybe one day..

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    1. It's great to hear you actually ended up doing one of the jobs you always thought about doing! I always imagine it would be really fun to be a photographer, but I can imagine there's a lot of hard work getting the gigs, promotion etc behind the scenes.

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  12. I love this idea of a post. I have it in my list of ideas but just haven't got around to writing it yet, guess I'll have to say you were my inspiration again... ;)

    I remember wanting to be a vet for the longest time and then changing my mind because I was sure I'd never get the grades. I would pick something I liked and then give up at the last moment because I would doubt if I could do it. Stupid really.

    The one job I always wanted to do was drive and ice cream truck and sell ice cream. I have a passion for ice cream :)

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    1. See where would you get your blog posts without me?! ;)

      I think the stress and the worry about getting the grades or onto a course was the one thing that made me switch so often between ideas - in school I never really had the confidence in my school work or my exam grades to believe I could really do a set career.

      Now an ice cream truck that would be fun. As long as you had a really funky song playing when you were driving around mind you ... and your 99's were really 99p.

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  13. Lovely post Rachael! I totally wanted to be an archaeologist too, till I did some work experience in the field, and realized how much paper work was involved! So now I'm just a shop girl with no idea what she wants to do!
    Its always so reassuring to hear from some who found their place in the end! :) J x
    That Girl In The Attic

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    1. Yeah you forget all the paperwork that goes into a lot of jobs these days, it's a shame although I know why it has to be done, feels like that comes before the main part of the job. I don't think I would ever have imagined being able to make money from what I do yet along imagine doing it back in the day, especially at school and I think my teachers would probably have wanted to put me off the idea. But right now it really suits my needs and interests and it's making me learn a lot about myself, the challenges, and just knowing vintage things are going off to a new home that's enough to make my day!

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  14. I'm still working on my dream. To make a living off of writing &/or others simply being entertained by my frivolous thoughts & photos would be spectacular! (: I admire your current achievements!

    ♥ | www.connect-the-cloths.com | xoxo
    http://blogspotter.co/connect-the-cloths

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  15. Great post. My blog isn't loaded with followers either - I figure that the people who do have loads of followers are just better at 'the game', rather than writing etc!

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  16. Interesting post and cute picture! When I was really young I wanted to be an astronaut, but I wanted to be a teacher for a long time. X

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  17. really enjoyed reading this post, what a cutie you were as a child :o_

    www.milliecbeauty.blogspot.com

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