What did you want to be when you grew up?

I didn't want a job at all, the options from school were predictably dreary and were only supposed to fill the gap until marriage to a local farmers son. I left home at 16 to escape and ended up as an academic at a London uni. Actually only realised my dream of not having to work when I retired. Lots of fun being a pensioner but how much nicer the lifestyle would be if I was still in my 20s....

At primary school I wanted to be a lighthouse keeper as that was a useful job and wouldn’t involve talking to people . I was happy on my own & thought spiral staircases would be fun. One time I said I wanted to be a lady which made my parents laugh. My mum said I’d have to marry a lord to do that. I couldn’t see what was so funny. It seemed sensible as I’d have acres of land, a lake, maybe some deer, and a big house. I had plans of running residential courses for kids from cities who would have fun learning stuff in the countryside. At secondary school I wanted to write novels or be an artist but my parents shunned those ideas saying novelists and artists only made money once they were dead. Afterwards one of my cousins went to art college so I wished I’d pushed harder to do that. Most of all I wanted to be safe but didn’t say that to anyone. Happily I met DH (not a lord) who also had experienced violence in his childhood so my adult life has been safe. I’m yet to write a book or become an artist.

I wanted to be an architect. then I wanted to be like Mozart.

In my teenage years I wanted to badly to study art, I wanted to do Art A level, but gave into parents and school because it wasn't a real subject. I worked for SSD (Volunteer Organiser then Community Worker and Community Education as I'm a good organiser.

But I wasn't really happy, I was organising other people when I wanted to be a grass roots "doer", but did follow a long term interest by training as a Psychotherapist as part of my work on SSD.

In my 40's at last I did a part time Fine Art degree and worked/taught Art, and finally added a proper Yoga Qualification, and its those two that I finally pursued as a working life.

I wish I hadn't felt driven by family pressures really to "have to do a professional job.

In my 20's (in the vivid and fascinating 1970's) I did lots of alternative stuff and wish I'd trusted my instincts to carry on and not feel guilty for not having a "proper job"

Never mind, I got there in the end 🙂

I wanted to join the WRAF. The recruiting officer came to the house when I was out. My mother. sent him off with a flea in his ear. She said it was akin to being on the streets. There were so many interesting jobs in WRAF. I wanted a scientific job . I ended up in a bank as Dad knew a bank manager. Worst time of my life.

Dreamed of being an air hostess or telephonist, got good maths and science grades so ended up in a laboratory.

Journalist.Or author.Never did, but still love to write, and wtite poems too.

*write

A Love Goddess

Xxx

My parents had their own business - they were typesetters and I was the only one out of the four of us who found it fascinating! I worked in Publishing at the Open University for two years so that I had some experience of working in the outside world, then joined the business aged 20. I stayed for 30 years until the business shut down when I was 50. I used to say I wanted to be a typewriter when I was little, but of course what I meant was typesetter! I loved it and looking back now I feel I was very fortunate to have a family business to go into which provided me with an interesting and enjoyable job.

I wanted to be a police officer. When the eyesight regulations changed in the 1960s I applied and was admitted. Only served for a short time as I met my husband shortly after I joined and when we married I had to leave. Married couples were not allowed to serve together, and we knew other people who, due to shift patterns hardly saw each other, so I became a FTM. Conpleted a degree with the Open University, then library school, and became a librarian- lovedit!

For years I was determined to be a Dentist, til I found I was too thick. Went into the Navy like my Dad.

I wanted to be a teacher but hated 6th form & left after a year. Was told by the head that I would never be anything without an education. I go a job with children with learning disabilities. Two years later I was accepted for a general nursing course SRN). Two years after qualifying I trained to be a District Nurse. I worked in a range of jobs as the kids grew up. Nursing became a graduate course so I signed up to my local university & completed a psychology degree (aged 40). I then did Masters & worked as a research nurse. Eventually I applied for a lecturing role & did this until I retired (so finally teaching . It has been a fab career & I wish i could go back to that teacher & tell her she was wrong!

I really wanted to be a Grandma!

I wanted to be a librarian. My Dad introduced me to the local library when I was 6 and we used to go every Saturday morning.I loved the whole aspect of it - the librariarians carrying piles of books,stacking sjhelves and stamping books. Never became a librarian but over the years I worked a lot in university libraries doing research on various projects.