What Did You Want To Be When You Grew Up?

[feetintrouble]

I always wanted to be a musician and create music. By the time I was 10, I knew I wanted to be a church organist. I loved the power of a pipe organ. It was like playing an entire orchestra so that is what I pursued and accomplished. I've never regretted it even though I've never made a lot of money. Wednesday I played a community Lenten service and was surprised when they stayed for the postlude and applauded. That is a thrill.

I'm an organist, I was fascinated by them as a child (it was the only thing I liked about going to church). I agree with the comment that it feels like playing a whole orchestra. At the age of nine, I really wanted to play the organ in a certain cathedral, which had actual trumpets sticking out of the front. I finally got my wish a quarter of a century later, when I attended a course on organ playing which happened to be in that city.

 

[punkiekit]

Simple question…. when you were real life little and a child growing up, what were your aspirations or dreams of who you wanted to become?

I wanted to be a veterinarian more than anything. Now I’m working for my local animal control and getting closer to my dream every day <3

 

[CLeazy928]

I wanted to be a professional wrestler and a professional golfer, growing up. I never took my academics seriously so I never put myself in a positive position to work towards those dreams. I wish I was more focused in highschool to have made the golf team to improve my skills more. I was able to try out and would have made the JV team but I since I didn't take my grades seriously I wasn't allowed to join.

 

[HoneySnow]

Well I'm probably showing my age, but when I was very young I wanted to be a "Solid Gold" dancer or Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader. When a bit older I wanted to be a pastry chef..... I'm none of those things but still enjoy them

 

[dogboy]

I'm an organist, I was fascinated by them as a child (it was the only thing I liked about going to church). I agree with the comment that it feels like playing a whole orchestra. At the age of nine, I really wanted to play the organ in a certain cathedral, which had actual trumpets sticking out of the front. I finally got my wish a quarter of a century later, when I attended a course on organ playing which happened to be in that city.

Awesome that you play the organ. Today I was practicing the Widor Toccata which I'll play for the Easter postlude. I have a Johannas digital pipe organ and it has a trumpet enchamad stop which is on my full organ combo.

At one time I thought about becoming a medical doctor as well as a veterinarian but I knew I was a musician so that was the direction I took.

 

[tango79]

I wanted nothing more than to be a pilot. Unfortunately I received glasses at 17 and didn't come from any wealth so both military and civilian pilot paths were out of the question. Fallback plan was software developer but again, poor family made that challenging. I started as a PC technician when I dropped out of high school, after a couple of years a chance to get a diploma from a career college came up and I got my Network Engineering diploma. I graduated at the height of the dot com burst and there were no jobs to be found so I worked as an apprentice machinist and then joined the Air Force as a technician. I completed a second diploma as an Electronics Technologist and have worked in Aviation and other related fields for the past 25 years.

It's amazing that there are 2 organists here. I considered music as a profession. I played Tuba (and others brass) in a couple of bands and in one orchestra when I was younger. I also played keyboards and piano in a classic rock band for a while (a strange learning curve to play with some amazing musicians with absolutely no classical training or theory) but nothing like playing the king of all instruments.

 

[chamberpot]

I cannot remember wanting to be anything in particular, Was bone in the mid 50's by the 60's I was working sun up to way past sundown on where I was raised on a farm and just wanted to be gone, left at age 16 and was thrown into life , worked for town highway departments and managed to finish HS with a work study program, lived on my own the last two years of HS. Went into the service for a few years and then started a family at 21. work very hard to raise 5 kids with a stay at home mom, oilfield rig work in the 70's, heavy equipment operator in the early 80's, ranch manager in the 90s, water well drilling in the 00's machinist in the 10's and retired in 20. Now I have the greatest job of all " Great Grampa" and I have had a charmed life.

 

[TeddyBearCowboy]

I wanted to be a veterinarian more than anything. Now I’m working for my local animal control and getting closer to my dream every day <3

As a real life cowboy, and having to be a veterinarian of sorts as part of that occupation, I applaud you and wish you the best in that endeavor!

 

[TeddyBearCowboy]

I wanted nothing more than to be a pilot. Unfortunately I received glasses at 17 and didn't come from any wealth so both military and civilian pilot paths were out of the question. Fallback plan was software developer but again, poor family made that challenging. I started as a PC technician when I dropped out of high school, after a couple of years a chance to get a diploma from a career college came up and I got my Network Engineering diploma. I graduated at the height of the dot com burst and there were no jobs to be found so I worked as an apprentice machinist and then joined the Air Force as a technician. I completed a second diploma as an Electronics Technologist and have worked in Aviation and other related fields for the past 25 years.

It's amazing that there are 2 organists here. I considered music as a profession. I played Tuba (and others brass) in a couple of bands and in one orchestra when I was younger. I also played keyboardss a and piano in a classic rock band for a while (a strange learning curve to play with some amazing musicians with absolutely no classical training or theory) but nothing like playing the king of all instruments.

I can soooo relate to your story of wanting to be a pilot! I too dreamed about this but my eyesight was a handicap. Nowadays, Lasik and other procedures can make those dreams a reality, but that wasn't a thing that was accepted back then. It was 20/20 or simply no.

I found a place though in-between, while getting my private pilot license and then making a career in aviation for awhile and getting to tell pilots where, when, and how they should fly. Not exactly the same, but still living the dream through a radio and radar was a pretty exciting thing!

Its interesting that you found a place in "aviation and other related fields" also, even though your dream of being a pilot wasn't fully realized.

 

[TeddyBearCowboy]

Well I'm probably showing my age, but when I was very young I wanted to be a "Solid Gold" dancer or Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader. When a bit older I wanted to be a pastry chef..... I'm none of those things but still enjoy them

Hey, I remember the Solid Gold dancers! And I am still a toddler, so you can't be that old!

 

[TeddyBearCowboy]

I wanted to be a professional wrestler and a professional golfer, growing up. I never took my academics seriously so I never put myself in a positive position to work towards those dreams. I wish I was more focused in highschool to have made the golf team to improve my skills more. I was able to try out and would have made the JV team but I since I didn't take my grades seriously I wasn't allowed to join.

Sorry to hear that things didn't work out as planned. But that truly is the case for a lot of us, perhaps even the majority of folks. We may have aspirations, which are great to have, but then life takes us a different place. The key though, is being happy wherever we may be. I know, I know, easier said than done. But yet if one can let go of the things that don't go as we wish, and find the good things in the moment, we may find a sense of success that we may never have otherwise realized is out there.

I have often sought different jobs, different things, and been disappointed when they didn't happen. But many years ago, I had some major events in my life where natural disasters and other circumstances threw away dreams and long-hoped for and hard work and earned outcomes were simply lost in a matter of days. Those experiences made me realize that happiness cannot be based on material things, but rather the events and experiences that are with us. The memories and experiences of life can't be taken away from us, but material things, including hoped for jobs or occupations, or such are fragile and can be lost and our of our control.

 

[feetintrouble]

I guess I would have liked to be a pilot. I learned later that it is extremely expensive to get into, and very competitive. I content myself with flying drones at the moment. As a child, I often dreamed about being able to fly, and wondering what things looked like from above: once I got into drone flying, I then knew.

 

[sissybaby34]

I'm an organist, I was fascinated by them as a child (it was the only thing I liked about going to church). I agree with the comment that it feels like playing a whole orchestra. At the age of nine, I really wanted to play the organ in a certain cathedral, which had actual trumpets sticking out of the front. I finally got my wish a quarter of a century later, when I attended a course on organ playing which happened to be in that city.

I am getting more into organ music since a visit a few years ago to the Royal Albert Hall in London to work an event there. Was able to explore around the high gallery and get close to and look down on to the magnificent instrument. If you haven't seen any of her work look up Anna Lapwood. She is only 28 and is organist there. Her enthusiasm is infectious and has made organ music accessible to a huge audience. The story of how she came to accompany Banobo, not everyone's taste in music but when the organ cuts in the crowed are literally blown away. It all happened by accident as she was practicing in the middle of the night when the sound engineers were rigging for the show and she was asked to be part of it.

 

[HoneySnow]

Hey, I remember the Solid Gold dancers! And I am still a toddler, so you can't be that old!

Awww thank you

 

[dogboy]

I am getting more into organ music since a visit a few years ago to the Royal Albert Hall in London to work an event there. Was able to explore around the high gallery and get close to and look down on to the magnificent instrument. If you haven't seen any of her work look up Anna Lapwood. She is only 28 and is organist there. Her enthusiasm is infectious and has made organ music accessible to a huge audience. The story of how she came to accompany Banobo, not everyone's taste in music but when the organ cuts in the crowed are literally blown away. It all happened by accident as she was practicing in the middle of the night when the sound engineers were rigging for the show and she was asked to be part of it.

The cool thing about this would be the low pedal notes that can shake your guts. Imagine having a 32 foot subwoofer because if you have a 32' pedal stop, you're moving 32' of air!

 

[egor]

I wanted to be a doctor, then in 8th grade I was thinking about Veterinarian. So I contacted the local vet School at the time and based my High school curriculum on those needs. When I graduated from High School "Quincy" was the thing I was interested in. During College my grades where not high enough and my morals where stronger then the premeds I associated with. So I got interested in Botany and that is what my college course work was based on.

I got into Biomedical research and animal care and really found what it was I wanted. I did not want to be Quincy, but rather Sam Fujiyama and doing all of the hands on lab work. So with a Laboratory Animal Care Technologist and doing the animal handling for all kinds of Research projects including the Department of Defense.

Because of Mental health issues I retired early and could not be more happier taking care of all of our Ferrets and Birds (conures and parakeets)

 

[Tigercub59]

Baseball player or cancer researcher to find the cure. Ended up later in life as a pediatric oncology nurse.

 

[denimchicken]

I didn't really know what I wanted to do initially. Then I developed this interest in diapers. I initially had the thought of being an astronaut because they wear diapers while they work! Later on I learned you don't need to be an astronaut to wear diapers. Can you imagine though? My interest in diapers almost guided my career.

I wonder if anyone here had their career affected in a positive way because of their interest in diapers.

 

[BBBen]

In my early childhood i had to jobs i wanted to be: the first one is farmer like my grandpa. I have good remebers of the time he drives with me as a little child on his tractor At this time he was farmer with cows, pigs, wood, corn, hop, potatoes... it was a classical mixture of evrything - other then today where you have to specialize your farming.

And the other wish i had as i was three years old i followed for my life. Today i work in that dream job - but i wouldnt tell here - some of you know.

The problem is, that some dream jobs arent like you have thought before. Sometimes they are nightmares But at all iam happy to have done it till now.

To the diaper aspect - it realy helps me now in my job - because of all challenges with my intrests - i have learned many things for my life and for others.