The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsAs a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up
I know a lot of little boys wanted to be a fireman or policeman and little girls wanted to be a nurse or mommy. I had watched a show on TV in the mid-50s about trains. In one scene, they showed a hopper car was being filled and that fascinated me to to the point where I wanted to be the guy sitting up in the tower controlling the filling of the cars.

FirstLight
(15,467 posts)I wanted to be the first woman president of the United States! LOL (I think that was a control issue because I didn't feel like I had much say in my family dynamic being the youngest..)
....and I wanted to be a long haul trucker cuz I thought it was so cool driving and talking on a CB...!
My Dad put one in the family station wagon and we used to try and talk to trucks when we were on road trips 😁
NoMoreRepugs
(11,479 posts)enid602
(9,494 posts)Retired
Ocelot II
(125,905 posts)but I was an odd little girl.
purple_haze
(401 posts)leftieNanner
(16,008 posts)msongs
(71,790 posts)calikid
(695 posts)change from this disgusting patriarchy to a more humane and loving society.
Response to calikid (Reply #7)
Silent Type This message was self-deleted by its author.
elleng
(140,141 posts)>>>>>Lawyer!!!
LudwigPastorius
(12,920 posts)...and I did become a musician...and, sort of, lived happily ever after.
Figarosmom
(6,828 posts)I had every intention of having my own little shop making clothing and other linens to order and alterations.
gopiscrap
(24,426 posts)until I found out that they went from point A to point B over and over
I thought they hnded you the keys and you went where you wanted and just picked up people as you went along
My first real ambition was to be a politician and a pastor and I have gotten to do both I ran for US Congress in 1990 and was the co pastor of a United Methodist Church for 3 years
oberle
(118 posts)Then a school teacher. And finally an organist. I became an organist and at 77, still am one.
AllaN01Bear
(26,372 posts)sakabatou
(45,074 posts)AllaN01Bear
(26,372 posts)carrear path and glad i am now retired . lovin it.
sinkingfeeling
(55,876 posts)Emile
(35,885 posts)motorcycle, just like my uncle Herbert.
Harker
(16,575 posts)I didn't fully realize how much work these people do.
lark
(25,214 posts)Luciferous
(6,446 posts)healthcare, so not even close lol
Nittersing
(7,380 posts)Lived just outside of NYC and thought it would be so cool to dance in a show on Broadway!
In hind sight, I think Broadway would've eaten me alive. Not enough self confidence to stand up to the constant judging.
I ended up fixing HVAC stuff.
Sogo
(6,434 posts)the people in the theater department were too weird for me. I did acting because it was fun; they were in it to "find themselves."
So, I did a fair amount of teaching and writing and finally ended up in the business world and never really thought about acting again.
Oeditpus Rex
(42,052 posts)Then, at about 9, I became a cartophile -- fascinated with maps. I collected dozens on our summer vacation trips and soon began to draw them myself.
At 10 or 11, I wrote a letter asking for a job to the Goushā company, second ònly to Rand McNally in production of road maps and located just up 101 in San Jose. I got back a fatherly, two-page letter from a vice president, encouraging me to stick with it and to contact him when I turned 18.
I studied mechanical drawing (drafting) from junior high into college, but for reasons I can't recall, got kicked out of my college class by the instructor. That made me abandon the thought of being a cartographer. I took a year off from college and returned to major in journalism, which became my career.
LoisB
(11,073 posts)CTyankee
(66,548 posts)I posed as her in front of the mirror.
3catwoman3
(27,132 posts)I liked lab equipment - test tubes, Florence and Erlenmeyer flasks, Bunsen burners. I graduated from nursing school on 1973, and worked until March 31st, 2021, so a long career in human biology.
Danascot
(5,080 posts)llmart
(16,620 posts)By high school I was writing for the school newspaper and then was chosen to be editor. I really wanted to be an investigative reporter for the NY Times. Now I just write posts on DU.
I did always want to be a mommy though and that much I did accomplish. My career was in human resources management.
JMCKUSICK
(3,117 posts)From the moment at 17 when I got my D L.,, I would call the cab companies in Minneapolis every year around my birthday. Red&White Cab Co. Was dumb enough to say yes when I turned 20.
Spoiler: Never hand a twenty year old the keys to an ex cop car that really does have the souped up engine, transmission, suspension etc...
I love love love love driving to this very day, and my absolute passion to be great was probably what saved my life, because I was insane lol, but drove every mile like it was my first. Always learning, and yes, pushing.
My next fun job was driving an emergency ambulance for a living. For another day....
greatauntoftriplets
(177,944 posts)I have absolutely no Asian ancestry, just liked Chinese food. Still do.
Solly Mack
(95,268 posts)berniesandersmittens
(12,187 posts)NNadir
(36,158 posts)My aunt was one of the earliest patients to receive an artificial heart valve, and lived more than a decade with it.
I didn't come close to becoming a surgeon, particularly because I'm far too squeamish and in any case would have never developed the "hands."
(My father-in-law was a doctor and rather thought the profession sucked.)
Chemistry is far more fun, so I'm glad to have changed my mind.