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Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni.
✶ Thank you for your readership and contributions. ✶
TODAY
Thursday, January 16
Fuel
cliff @ rosedale / August 13, 2007 8:18 AM
When I was little my grandfather would take me to kindergarten every morning. On the way there, he would pull up to the only firehouse in our one stoplight Georgia town and let me play on the fire engines for as long as I wanted (he was the county tax commissioner and everyone knew and loved him). So I was ALWAYS late for school.
Needless-to-say I wanted to be a firefigher.
mike / August 13, 2007 8:47 AM
I wanted to be a stock analyst. I didn't even know what a stock analyst was, but I knew that it sounded pretty impressive.
Doyle / August 13, 2007 9:00 AM
Archaeologist, definitely.
There was this interactive exhibit at the Children's Museum in Indianapolis where kids could "excavate" fossils/pottery/bones from a large sandbox, using brushes and trowels. I could have cared less about the rest of the museum!
jennifer / August 13, 2007 9:05 AM
In chronological order:
A Muppet Baby
Animation Cell Colorer-Inner (I loved coloring books, and tried to figure out how to parlay that into a career)
Curator at the Art Institute
fluffy / August 13, 2007 9:06 AM
a teacher or veterinarian
editorkid / August 13, 2007 9:12 AM
From third grade on, an editor.
Mindy / August 13, 2007 9:15 AM
a nurse or a psychologist.
i'm a wedding cake decorator.
things sure do change.
Justin / August 13, 2007 9:16 AM
Taller. Brilliant. A friend to animals. Happy and in love.
Figured I'd sort the rest out as I went.
Greg / August 13, 2007 9:34 AM
A projectionist at a repertory movie house.
TaJ / August 13, 2007 9:52 AM
hm...i don't think i ever thought about it..i just liked to draw...a lot...probably something creative...
i'm a designer now...returning to drawing....maybe question should have a second part- and where are you now?
billy / August 13, 2007 9:52 AM
totally wanted to be an archeologist as well, Doyle.
Jill / August 13, 2007 9:54 AM
I remember wanting to
--be the first female pitcher for the Cubs
--be a cartoonist
--write for Johnny Carson
Life hasn't turned out that way, but when I was a kid I didn't have any idea that living in LA wouldn't be my style.
carrie / August 13, 2007 9:57 AM
Up until my 2nd week of college, I was going to be a vet. Then I took “Intro to Archaeology”, changed my mind, changed my major and voila! Here I am working in interactive media.
I’m still trying to decide what to go back to school for. I’m considering creating a new job called “animal greeter”. The job description is something like “1) love animals 2) greet them when they walk into the vets office 3) give them a lollipop on their way out and tell them what a good job they did”. Sounds good, I know.
holden / August 13, 2007 9:58 AM
Garbageman (~8 yrs old)
Physicist (~12)
Landscape Architect (~14)
Stock Broker (~16)
Teacher (~28)
Pedro / August 13, 2007 10:10 AM
In the pre-teen years, I wanted to be a baseball player or a football player, depending on the season.
In my early high school years, I thought becoming a senator or congressman would be cool, until I figured out that its not really a respectable occupation.
Leelah / August 13, 2007 10:12 AM
-Olympic swimmer
-veterinarian
-artist
leah / August 13, 2007 10:18 AM
an astronaut or a teacher so I could write on the chalkboard.
Kay / August 13, 2007 10:25 AM
Stage actor. Not too original, really. But the weird thing was, whenever I imagined my future, it was always in black and white. And I was dressed like Donna Reed.
Alice / August 13, 2007 10:36 AM
In kindergarten my 5-year-old self wrote that I wanted to be a cowgirl and have a horse named Firepot.
I think I learned sarcasm at a very young age.
Sara / August 13, 2007 10:45 AM
Piano teacher.
In fifth grade, we did a "mock city." Everyone chose jobs and fake money was transferred around. We all needed to buy food, so the kid who owned the grocery store had the most money. Nobody needed piano lessons, so I was broke.
I think I stopped wanting to be a piano teacher after that.
JAH / August 13, 2007 11:05 AM
At a young age, Tour de France winner. Then that Lance Armstrong jerk went and beat me too it. After that, archaeologist. I even went so far as to major in it in college. Now I'm a Web developer. Go figure.
skafiend / August 13, 2007 11:10 AM
Baseball/football player. But being slow, flat-footed, poor visioned (?) with a low threshhold for pain pretty much ended the last remnants of that dream after H.S. football. After that, animator and then sports writer because I found out they could get into the games for free. That last one actually came true.
But Greg...
A projectionist at a repertory movie house.
Seriously? You wanted to be that as a kid?
Josh / August 13, 2007 11:18 AM
A musician. I became one, but I was never lucky enough to get paid for it. I wound up in IT while trying to pay for college.
Samantha / August 13, 2007 11:21 AM
I never knew. My dad always asked me "What kind of engineer do you want to be when you grow up?"
So now I'm a civil engineer. I still don't know what I actually WANT to be, though.
kate / August 13, 2007 11:53 AM
I never gave it much though. As a kid, I liked riding bikes and getting dirty.
I'm 26 and still really like riding bikes and getting dirty.
So... like... I win?
p / August 13, 2007 12:09 PM
a chinatown loft owner. i used to "run away" alot when i was a kid (packing a lunch sack with rocks and g.i. joes and living at the park until dinner) and dream of my grown up loft. work involved wearing suits.
David / August 13, 2007 12:18 PM
First, an astronaut.
Then a dinosaur.
Barring that, a paleontologist.
Then a guy who made robots.
Then a paleontologist again.
Then a research scientist. Which I actually did for a while, and decided I didn't want to do anymore.
the pet / August 13, 2007 12:20 PM
An artist.
My dad painted, and when I was 3, I could sit stone still for hours and just watch him paint. I thought it was amazing that he could create landscapes on a piece of blank canvas. To a 3-year-old, that's magic.
As I got older, I realized that one couldn't really make a living painting pictures, so I decided on being a mad scientist, but then I got self-conscious and wanted to really blend in.
So now I do accounting and marketing to pay the bills. And I've been creating things in my free time.
nattles / August 13, 2007 12:34 PM
i wanted to be a journalist for a long time, then the realization that i'd probably be covering stories for a paper in the middle of nowhere until i could even get a mediocre job convinced me otherwise.
then i wanted to be an attorney and paralegaling taught me otherwise.
guess who is still a paralegal!
Y A J / August 13, 2007 12:42 PM
Until I was about 12, I planned to be an Olympic swimmer. I never even made it to the Trials, but it did pay for college.
For a job, I thought I'd be a veterinarian.
I'm a lawyer.
JillyBoo / August 13, 2007 1:01 PM
I wanted to be a model, but only grew up to be 4'11". So I became a fashion designer until I got sick of it. Now I'm an admin. asst. A very well-dressed admin. asst.
Amanda / August 13, 2007 1:05 PM
When I was little, around 10, I wanted to be a a member of the Irish Republican Army. Adventure, travel, meet new people, fight for a worthy cause. Then I discovered they were terrorists and killed innocent people, so there went that. Then I wanted to be a war photographer, and then secretary of state.
Your Mom / August 13, 2007 1:10 PM
I wanted to be a fighter pilot sooooo bad. I still have a bunch of books on flying, military planes, etc. at my parents place.
F-16 is the plane I wanted to fly. Now I'd be happy just to pay 10k and ride in one. I think you can do that now.
annie / August 13, 2007 1:24 PM
I wanted to be a Vet, b/c I figured that would allow me to buy a convertable and play with dogs all day. My brother wanted to be a bridge tender b/c he thought you would just sit around and watch t.v. all day until you had to hit a button for the bridge to go up if a tall boat came by.
k / August 13, 2007 1:25 PM
astronaut
archeologist
queen
I also remember thinking that being a grown up would be great because grown ups get to dress up for work every day in suits.
While there are many good things about being grown up, wearing suits is not one of them.
Shylo / August 13, 2007 2:05 PM
A hitman. Or, rather, hitgal.
susan / August 13, 2007 2:46 PM
age 2: married to the dog (I don't know)
age 3: a She-Ra character
age 6: a doctor
age 10: a writer
age 15: a mathematician
age 21: a cancer biologist.
Going by this Fibonacci-ish sequence, I guess I'm due for my next change in three years, when I'm 28. Who knows what the future will hold?
jen / August 13, 2007 3:47 PM
for awhile, i wanted to be a fashion designer -- i remember turning my playroom into a designer studio ("dazzling designers") where i drew very angular clothing using stencils and rulers.
later, i wanted to be a rock star, but knew i never would be, so i thought working in a recording studio would be the next best thing. that is, until i got to college, took a few classes and was told by my professors that the majority of us would never work in the industry.
during my first job out of college, a co-worker of mine decided we should be a team: she'd be the professional killer, i'd be the professional thief. that really didn't work out either.
where am i? in advertising. somehow, i'm not that surprised.
anne / August 13, 2007 4:19 PM
Hey, David, I wanted to be a paleontologist too, until sometime in high school.
At that point I decided that I wanted to be a physical therapist. Then I got into college and discovered that real biology classes were quite hard.
I became an English major, and a writer/editor instead.
JasonB / August 13, 2007 4:23 PM
archaeologist
Brandy / August 13, 2007 7:43 PM
A zoologist.
A geneticist.
Later, a high school biology teacher. I had a great high school biology teacher.
When I was a teen, I had the very precocious thought, "I want to get paid for being me."
Amazingly, I do.
Mac / August 13, 2007 9:07 PM
Not me.
Carlotta / August 13, 2007 10:17 PM
Like almost every girl in Catholic grade school in the 1960's I wanted to be a nun.
Then, reading books about ancient empires and dinosaurs made me want to become either an archeologist or paleontologist.
Long story short: I've been in any number of administrative support positions.
Michelle / August 14, 2007 9:12 AM
At the age of 5 I wanted to be a ballerina or a nurse. Pretty typical gender role influences there. My dad, an engineer, was always encouraging my older brother to follow in his footsteps by giving him chemistry sets, etc..
Thirty years later? I'm a molecular biologist. My brother, he's an excellent graphic designer and photographer.
paul / August 14, 2007 11:47 AM
Most of my early career choices were dashed as soon as I found out how much work it would take:
zoologist
stuntman
rescue chopper pilot (years later I saw a Cobra helicopter and changed to attack chopper pilot, then I saw an Apache...)
wilderness adventure guide
There was even a time as a kid that I wanted to be a bartender.
spook / August 14, 2007 11:57 AM
Forest Ranger
Artist, until my Grand Mother kindly informed me that there "was no money in it
ozonelayer / August 14, 2007 12:14 PM
grade school:
- policeman
- then astronaut
junior high:
- computer programmer
- baseball player
high skool:
- basketball player
college:
- scientific researcher
- then pharmacist
- finally, computer programmer
now:
- happy?
Eamon / August 14, 2007 12:55 PM
Alive. Seriously, I don't remember wanting to be much of anything but alive come THE YEAR TWO-THOUSAND, what with nukes, pollution, robots, and what-not.
The only two things I ever gave serious thought to trying were a) biomedical engineering, which I failed miserably at; and b) the priesthood, which I realized relatively quickly that I didn't have the calling for. So there you go.
ken / August 14, 2007 1:14 PM
A pirate first then an artist.
Artist won, although I am still a pirate in spirit.
erin / August 14, 2007 1:40 PM
Age 5-9: Fashion Designer
Age 10-14: Interior Decorator
I lack the artistic skills for these jobs so settled on a lawyer until I got to college.
I work in advertising now.
printdude / August 14, 2007 2:06 PM
I wanted to be a doctor.
Until I saw how hard those poor Med Students worked.
Then I wanted to be a physicist.
Until I saw how you had to work as slave labor in someone elses lab to make it.
Then I wanted to be a chef.
So I cooked.
Now, I am a printer/graphic designer.
It's much easier on my constitution.
eric / August 14, 2007 3:18 PM
a garbage man (mostly so I could ride on the back of the truck) and a professional basketball player. I don't like trash and I only grew to be 5'8" and was on the C team in middle school when I stopped playing basketball.
james / August 14, 2007 4:55 PM
a professional baseball player and then a spy. i should've idolized moe berg.
pat / August 14, 2007 5:53 PM
at my Kindergarten Graduation, we were all asked what we wanted to be, and I said "a taxi cab driver."
I didnt understand why at the time, but it garnered a lot of laughs. Since everyone else answered with the standard "doctor, fireman, astronaut stuff". Though, I do still have days that I think it'd be an interesting job.
Now, when I grow up, I know I want to be a renaissance man; jack of all trades. Do you know anyone who's hiring?
ladyfingers. / August 14, 2007 6:08 PM
1. For awhile I wanted to be a racecar driver, because I figured it didn't require math.
2.When mom asked me this I told her I wanted to be an artist. She told me I better marry a doctor.
3. Now, I just want to be taller.
this seems to be a common ideal profession.
jj / August 14, 2007 8:51 PM
At various points in time- nurse, astronaut, writer, radio disc jockey, clown, small business owner (I loved my lemonade stand), magician, journalist, actor, spy, President.
My job, volunteer activites and hobbies today all have something to do with all of those jobs, other than astronaut - does watching NASA tv count?
Henry Reed / August 14, 2007 9:21 PM
I wanted to open a kite repair shop. I imagined kids bringing me kites with tangled strings, busted sticks and ripped paper fronts and maybe missing a bow or two. I would give them a claim check, fix the kites and everyone would be happy.
No one said catcher in the rye!!!!
Anne / August 14, 2007 9:27 PM
Except for a brief period when for some reason I wanted to be a dentist, and another when I was trying to talk myself into getting a PhD and being a college professor, I always wanted to be a writer. And now I am.
Olive / August 14, 2007 11:32 PM
1st - 2nd grade - teacher and or philosopher
4th to 6th grade - advertising executive. Watched too much
Thirtysomething
Half of high school to freshman year of college - doctor
end of college to some post-college - lawyer. went to law school for a semester and worked as a paralegal at two diff. law firms. Found out it wasn't a good fit.
Present - in grad school for education to be a h.s. English teacher! yea!
Oh yeah, I have always wanted to write though... in some capacity. Maybe in my summers as a teacher?
Sol / August 15, 2007 9:29 AM
Stunt car driver. I still do, though I'm no closer to that goal than I was when I was young.
Beauregard Henry / August 15, 2007 9:30 AM
Momma, didn’t want me to grow up to be a cowboy,
She wanted me to be a doctor or lawyer and such, but its hard for ah Momma to keep a boy from picking guitars and driving old trucks.
Guess she knew that cow boys never stay home, were always alone, even with someone we love. Yea I know we aint easy to love, n’ harder to hold, give the ladies a songs, over diamonds or gold, and we like smoky old pool rooms and clear mountain mornings, but we also like little warm puppies, children, and girls of the night.
But when boots hit the gound, and we come around, them that don’t know us wont like us and them that do smetimes won’t know how to take us.
But we aint wrong, just different and if we don’t die young, will probably just ride away.....
Grad Student / August 15, 2007 9:34 AM
A professor.
Almost there... just another three years of grinding poverty and 80 hour weeks in grad school..
Elizabeth / August 15, 2007 3:43 PM
Reporter
Tiffany
Hair model
Penny from Inspector Gadget
Bed and Breakfast owner (out of my parents' house)
Reporter (again)
Newspaper writer
Graphic designer
Now I work in the marketing/PR/donor relations section of my company.
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