Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Blog Post 2: Work and Careers

For this blog post, I want you to recall what you wanted to be when you “grew up.” On what did you base these desires? Are you still pursuing the career path that you had planned when you were 7? Why or why not?

Your responses to Blog Post #2 are due by 5 pm Eastern Time on Monday, Feb. 1, 2010.

26 comments:

  1. What I wanted to be when I grew up was influenced by the books I read as a kid. I loved to read when I was younger, especially mystery novels. I always wanted to be a detective like Nancy Drew. I loved the suspense, conspiracy theories and the surprises with her job. Nancy Drew was heroic, brave, independent, she helped others and I wanted to be like her. In the books she didn’t have to go to school, had two really great best friends and she was extremely smart. I am not currently pursuing the career path of a criminal investigator or detective. I don’t doubt that the job would still be extremely rewarding and interesting. I don’t really know when or why my career aspirations changed. I, like most people, considered many different options while I was figuring out my life and my career path. I think in a way, I could be pursuing some of the qualities that attracted me to the job of a detective. Detectives help people and can bring them happiness or closure if they solve a particular case. I would like to think I’ll find a career where I can help others and somehow bring happiness to their lives.

    ReplyDelete
  2. To be completely honest I’m not sure if I could tell you what I wanted to be when I “grew up.” I think I wanted to be quite a few things. For a long time I wanted to be a veterinarian because I absolutely love animals. That dream soon changed because my mother informed me that I wouldn’t be playing or helping animals in the way I thought, instead, I’d be cutting into them and fixing them in that way. I don’t think I was brave enough to do that, so on to my next dream. I wanted to be a teacher. I would make my brother play “school” with me every chance I could get. I would create lesson plans (my version of them anyway) and worksheets. I used to love creating these “school days” that were held in my bedroom and written on a white board. I do remember I was very determined.
    I think most of these desires of what I wanted to be “grown up” came from the influences around me growing up. My aunt was always taking in dogs that needed a good home and I always wanted a dog when I was younger, so I think this is where my desire to be a veterinarian came from. I’m no longer on this path, but I still have a strong passion for animals and their well-being. I don’t think I will ever be a veterinarian, but I think I will always be an avid member in the animal community.
    Wanting to be a teacher definitely came from the influence of my mom and dad. Both went to undergraduate and graduate school for teaching and more specifically speech pathology and deaf education. I’ve always appreciated what my parents do for a living and think it takes a lot of work and dedication to be a great teacher. I don’t think I can say I will never want to ever teach one day, but for now it is not one of my passions. And I truly believe one must be passionate about what they want to do or it’s not worthwhile for anyone involved.
    As of right now I’m still looking for a job/career in the marketing realm. I’ve really enjoyed my communication classes and wouldn’t mind continuing something to do with public relations, etc. I’m really interested in event planning and training. We’ll see where next year takes me!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ever since I began school, I always wanted to be a teacher when I grew up. Right from the beginning I loved leading and teaching. I did pretty well in subjects like math and science, so I would always be willing to teach other kids in the class. I loved elementary school and had really good teachers, which I think is why I had the desire to teach when I was older. Plus, I was always told by my parents, brothers, and friends that I explained things really well which encouraged me and built up my self-esteem.

    In high school, I still had the desire to become a teacher when I was older but realized that I would either teach in elementary school or teach band in high school. By the end of high school I had such a passion for music that I started college majoring in music, thinking I would eventually teach music. The summer before college however, I started to really think about my future and what job I would want to have. I realized that I wanted to aim more towards the business world.

    I decided that I wanted to do some type of management or human resource job because I was thinking about getting a decent salary. I do enjoy the path I am taking right now because not only am I thinking about salary, but I think I will also like being in the business world. While I still want to teach elementary school one day, right now I’m planning on getting into the business world, saving up, having a family and then fall back on teaching later on in life.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Growing up I was the biggest “girly girl” ever! I played dress up every day, wore my highheels (which I called “clicky shoes’) to gym class, and would be upset if my mom wasn’t wearing makeup. At age 12 I decided I wanted to pursue fashion and become a fashion designer. During school I would sketch style deigns on the back of my homework to put in my “portfolio.” My dad knew someone at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, so at age 13 I took a tour of FIT. Yes, I started my college searching pretty early!
    I continue to work towards my dream of being a fashion designer until I met Tessa Auwarter. She was five years older than me and lived pretty much in my backyard. I wanted to be JUST like her! We already had the same name so that was a plus!
    Tessa was a huge runner. One day she asked me to come out to this summer running program at the local state park. Although at that time I didn’t own a pair of athletic shoes, I decided to buy a pair and attend the summer camp. Turns out, I loved running! From that day, I traded in my “clicky shoes” and makeup for Aasics and running apparel. Since then, my passion in life has been running. It may sound weird, but it’s made me who I am today and tauht me many valuable life lessons.
    So where does this all fit into “what I want to be when I grow up”? Well, my desire to be a fashion designer has COMPLETELY changed. I’m now studying Org Comm with a minor in Writing and Rhetoric. My dream job would be to go into event management/planning for a running organization. Or to work for Runner’s World Magazine. I want to combine my passion for running with my academics. It’s funny how what I wanted to be years ago is so different today. I am the opposite of who I was at age 12.
    I applied for a summer internship with the sporting company Sports Backers. I’ve done many races with them so I’m hoping to get the event management intern. This would be a great start to my future dream job.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I always wanted to be a ballerina when I “grew up.” Most girls are put into ballet class by their mothers as early as age 4, but then quit once they are 8 or 9 years old. I actually started taking dance classes when I was 8, and continued until I was 18.

    I wanted to be a ballerina because I had a real passion for the art form. I thought it was cool that being a ballerina was so physically demanding, but when on stage you had to make the moves look effortless. I loved the routine of going to class 4 days a week. I loved the sense of competition between myself and my classmates. I loved dressing up and performing on stage. I loved the pressure from my teacher to improve from class to class, week to week, and year to year. I thought dancing was something I would never be tired of doing, so I would always be happy with a career as a ballerina.

    I was accepted to an intensive dance camp at the Washington School of Ballet the summer before my freshmen year of high school. It was here that I came to the realization that I didn’t want to be ballerina for the rest of my life because frankly, I did not want to give up eating. I was 13 years old the summer of that intensive camp, and I will always remember the hour long lunch time we were given as a break from our 9am-5pm dance schedule. My class of 13-15 year-olds had the same break time as the oldest group of girls who were 18 and older. My class would sit and look at the tall, wafer-thin older girls and watch them “eat” a “lunch” consisting of a giant cup of coffee, an apple, and a cigarette. This is when I started to realize that I did not want to live that kind of life when I “grew up.”

    I know that not all ballerinas have eating disorders and unhealthy lifestyles, but these few girls who I saw consume this “lunch” every day will forever make me think that being a ballerina would lead me to develop image problems with myself. And even if I did not have trouble eating because of weight issues, being a ballerina would limit how much money could be spent on groceries, seeing as the salary is not what you would call lucrative. I was told often that I was wonderful dancer, but to succeed in the dance world, you must be really, really, good. And even then, you must live off the paycheck of an artist which just continues to get smaller and smaller as the years go on.

    While I continued to dance throughout high school, I told myself that once I got to college, I would pursue an education that focused on talents I had other than dancing. As a freshman, I came to JMU as a declared Communication Studies major and I could not be happier with my decision. I have loved the program here and feel like I have further developed skills and knowledge that I had upon entering college.

    As for the dream job of being a ballerina, it hasn’t been completely erased from my radar. I do dream of eventually opening up a ballet studio and teaching dance classes some day. Perhaps I will take after my first dance teacher, Mrs. Purvis, who opened a studio in her basement after all her kids had started high school. After all, if I can’t be a ballerina, it doesn’t mean I can’t help other little girls work toward that dream job which I eventually figured out was not the right one for me.

    ReplyDelete
  6. When I was growing up, especially in elementary and middle school, I really thought I wanted to be a teacher. I would sit there in class and think how cool it would be to stand in the same position as my teachers were in someday. I thought about how great it would be to have my own classroom and decorate it. I could also have my own desk and grade papers. I thought grading papers and coming up with classroom lessons would be a lot of fun.

    Now, that quickly disappeared as I entered high school. In high school, I didn’t think much of what I was going to do when I grew up. However, towards the end of high school, my junior year, I thought I either would go into music, because I was really good, or to be a crime scene investigator. After contemplating whether I wanted to play an instrument for the rest of my life, which would be a very long time, or becoming a police officer first, I quickly decided that was not the right career path for me.

    When I came to JMU, I had some pressure from my mom to decide what I wanted to do when I grew up. I thought of going into marketing and settled on becoming a business major. I thought business would take me to where I wanted to go in life. I thought business would help me have some kind of income because at that point I was thinking about what job was going to get me money. Then, I decided I wanted to go into Hospitality and Tourism Management. I thought that I wanted to work in a hotel or country club and that was about it.

    I finally changed my career path again and now I want to be an event planner or coordinator in a luxury hotel, located in a big city. Even though I have changed my mind quite often growing up, and decided what I wanted to do only a year ago, if you go back to my middle school years where I was talking about having my own classroom and decorating it, it actually all comes together. The whole organizational and creative aspect still stands true to this day, and the career path I chose is similar to what I described back in middle school in which I chose a path that involved organization, planning and creativity. This career path brings out the best qualities and characteristics in me and something that I know I can be great at in my life. Even though teaching was not really what I had in mind in the end, becoming an event planner involves many similar skills needed to be able to teach others.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up as soon as I started kindergarten: an art teacher. I stepped into my art class and felt as if I belonged. I kept this career path in mind until my sophomore year in college. I realized over time that despite the wonderful influence a teacher can have on the lives of her students and the joy of seeing others artistic abilities, teachers don't get paid squat for the hard work they do. Like many jobs in America, workers often don't get paid what they deserve. People become socialized as to what jobs are considered "good" and which are considered "bad". Of course, the good and bad are determined by status and money in this country.
    I changed my major in college from Fine Art to Communication so I could get a "real job". However, as I reach the end of my senior year, I know now more than ever that I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up and its a frustrating feeling. I hope I will get it figured out soon. What I do know is that I like people. I enjoy helping others in this world because that truly is the only thing that makes people happy.
    I don't think being an art teacher is where I will end up. I enjoy organizing events and getting to know people. Perhaps I can find an organization that incorporates both.

    ReplyDelete
  8. When I was little I dreamt of one day becoming a librarian. I thought this would be the perfect career for me because I loved to read, and at that age (7 or so) I thought that was all it took to become a librarian. It was funny too because my mom took this desire seriously and would research for the process of become a librarian. She started throwing words at me like “library science” and then I started to think otherwise about this career choice, although not right away.

    When I was in high school I started to get involved in a number of activities, to include forensics (speech) where I learned I had a sort of innate talent for public speaking. Although I did not at that point hone my natural skills and learn how to improve upon what came naturally to me, I did keep it stored in my repertory. And naturally when I entered the college realm I switched my major from health sciences, pre-pharm to communication studies where I realized communication was not just about giving speeches.

    As far as starting out in the pre-pharm concentration, it was the only medical suggestion my mother made, since she was a nurse, that sounded the least icky and had the most appealing salary for the amount of schooling. It only took one semester of not taking any science classes other than G-Health to realize that the field of medicine was not for me.

    ReplyDelete
  9. When I was in elementary school, I can distinctly remember three careers that I wanted to "be when I grew up", and the first two were inspired by class speakers. The first career was a tornado chaser. When I was around 8 years old we had a speaker come into our third grade class who was a tornado chaser. Around this same time, the movie "Twister" came out. This movie was action packed and the two main stars were tornado chasers. I have always loved adventure and exploring, so watching this film and seeing tornado chasers have such "exciting" jobs seemed to entice me. (I obviously did not have the reasoning sense to see the harmful side/ life-threatening risks of this job either!) Needless to say, the desire to be a tornado chaser lasted a while, but not long enough.

    The next year in school (I think it was 4th grade), we had another class speaker come in and talk about their career, which was cool since they were an astronaut. I remember being excited listening to their stories about floating in space and eating astronaut food. In my eyes these were obviously the coolest parts to the job, but in reality, they were the smallest aspects to the career/mandatory "lifestyle" (if you can call it that in space!) I remember enjoying the talk from this astronaut too since he lived next door to one of my best friends, so he seemed like an adult with a "normal job" considering I saw him in the neighborhood often.

    Obviously, both of these desires were based on adventure and false pretenses considering my attraction to these jobs was purely based off the "perks" of the careers.

    Lastly, the third career I know I was interested in growing up was a teacher. In 4th grade I had a teacher, Miss Rey, who had just graduated college. Since she was young, she was the "cool teacher" and I wanted to be just like her! Also, my mom, grandma, and a few cousins are all teachers so from that year on I remember always helping them set up their classrooms in August and prepare for the school year. I loved working with kids and throughout all of middle school, high school, and the first 2 years of college, I was actively involved in working with kids in the community. Long story short, early in my junior year of college I realized that although I loved kids, I did not want to work with them all day. I have had the opportunity to teach kids and adults, and I know that I prefer to teach adults. Hence, I picked up a minor in Human Resource Development and pursued a degree in Organizational Communication since we have the opportunity to teach and train adults in our classes. I have loved the opportunities I have had to speak in front of groups/classes (small and large) and know that I have finally settled into a more realistic career opportunity since I truly enjoy teaching, working with others on projects, and working in an office setting.

    Although the career path I have chosen to follow may not seem as exciting as the first few I was interested in, I know that it will be rewarding in the end!

    ReplyDelete
  10. As a child, I wanted to grow up and be exactly like my mother and follow in her footsteps upon college graduatoin; a school teacher for the government in a foreign country overseas. Hearing about her adventures and how spontaneous her life was, I wanted to experience the exact same life, exact same experiences, and find my husband the exact same way has my mother had. Not knowing anything about life or having any of my own adventures to reflect on, it was normal for the only daughter in the family to want to be 'just like mommy.' I had no expectations of myself but to have a life just like my mother. I looked up to her and realized she had such a great life as a young adult. It was only natural for me to want a great young adult life as well.

    I based these desires on the why my mother perceived her life after college graduation. She made the world seem so simple, allowing you to achieve all that you wanted. My mother was very smart to put this into her children's mind, not letting anything stop us from what we desired to achieve in life.

    As i grew older and working with children in multiple occasions, i realized i no longer wanted to be a school teacher. However, i still want to live overseas in a foriegn country, but a country that still speaks English. I am no longer pursuing the career path of a teach that i had so wanted when I was 78 years old. I realized I wanted to be successful in what I know I will do my best in, whether it be public relations, an entrepenuer business-owner, or traveling across Europe. Even as a college student, I have yet nailed down exactly what I desire to be upon college graduation. I have narrowed my personal expectations to a successful business worker, living in a fun, populous area, who strives to help other people, whether it be raising money, raising awareness, or better other's lives.

    Although I do not have an exact career in mind, I know I will love it, work as hard as I can for the company, and know it will be fun and rewarding working for such a great company.

    ReplyDelete
  11. When I was younger, I wanted to be a professional softball player. I've been playing softball since I was 4 or 5, starting with t-ball of course, then club softball and then a select-travelling-nationally ranked softball team. This dream was crushed when I had knee surgery from a ski accident in middle school. I was a catcher, so I couldn't squat with my bad knee anymore and ended up tearing my ACL in high school, too, so it just didn't work out. I kept playing competitively on the nationally ranked team in high school since I still loved the sport, but knew professional sports, let alone playing at the collegiate level was out of reach. This seems like a really far-fetched dream of mine, but it's what I really aspired to be! I looked up to Lisa Fernandez (a famous professional softball pitcher) since I was little and wanted to do what I loved year round.

    I wanted to be a professional softball player because I've always had a passion for softball. I love the idea of showing my abilities individually while playing for a team as a whole. Knowing that my 2 run triple would win a game in the end was an amazing feeling and I loved doing all I could to make the team successful and proud. I've always worked really well with other team members. I not only had the skills to lead me to be (somewhat) known in the softball world, but also had the knowledge and love for the sport itself.

    As a rising freshman in Summer 2007, I came to the Summer Springboard that July to meet my "undeclared major" advisor. I looked through the handbook and read through "Communication Studies." I researched Organizational Communication and learned about event planning, which caught my eye immediately. I realized I've always had a passion for event planning-- from planning slumber parties when I was a young girl, to throwing dinner parties with my friends in high school. Even my friends depended on me to plan events! Ever since, I've been extremely enthusiastic about event planning. As a selfless, charismatic, hard-working, social young woman, I would make a great event planner because I am motivated and determined (like with my schoolwork) to get the job done in a professional manner. Another reason why I aspire to be an event planner is because I cannot stand the thought of sitting at a desk on my computer from 9-5 everyday. I like the idea of helping a variety of people every day, knowing I'm influencing others' lives, and that every day is different. I'm looking forward to getting an internship for event planning very soon!

    ReplyDelete
  12. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Growing up, I always changed my mind on what I wanted to be but all of the career paths I wanted to take involved helping people. The one main career I wanted to do for the longest time was to become a physical therapist. I wanted to be a physical therapist growing up because for a good portion of my childhood I was in and out of physical therapy 3 times a week for long periods of time due to minor injuries and a major knee injury that changed my life. From going to physical therapy and having someone help me through my major injury to get better to the best of my ability, I wanted to offer help to others that are going through what I went through or even worse. I love to work with people and love to know I am making somewhat of a difference in someone’s life.
    Although I am not pursuing a career in physical therapy today, I want to pursue a career in a different form of therapy that focuses on relearning daily routines known as Occupational Therapy. Since my junior year of high school, I have been babysitting a 23 year old autistic man who has changed my life drastically. Although, he is unable to talk normally, he lives a normal life to the best of his ability. After his stroke when he was four years old, he had to re learn all the necessary daily routines such as how to brush his teeth, button his jacket, how to eat and such. From working with him, my eyes were open to occupational therapy and my interest in that field grew. By being an occupational therapist, I will still be able to fulfill my career desires. My plan is to finish the prerequisites for Graduate school this summer and go back to school next fall.

    ReplyDelete
  14. My first dream job was to work at Sea World as one of the entertainers. I have been involved in gymnastics and cheerleading throughout my life. Swinging from bars and doing flips was second nature to me. In the 6th grade I began diving as well. After going to Sea World and seeing the dolphin act I was so sure that I would fit right into that role. It looked like a job that I could have fun at everyday. It seemed perfect. Obviously, I am no longer pursuing that career. I honestly do not think that I would be very comfortable swimming with dolphins, nor do I think I would be very talented at the different tricks the trainers have to perform. While, swimming with dolphins all day sounds like fun, I think I would much rather be working at a desk indoors.

    My other dream job, which began in the fourth grade was to be a lawyer. I held on to that dream until about the 7th grade. In the fourth grade my one best friend and I were inseparable and we had to do everything the same. So, naturally, when she said she wanted to be a lawyer, I decided right then and there that I wanted to be a lawyer too. I really knew nothing about being a lawyer, it just sounded cool. I had learned from movies that lawyers made a lot of money, drove nice cars, and always wore outfits. That all sounded great to me. I even loved to argue at the time! But, one day I finally realized that being a lawyer was more than just arguing with everyone and I learned what actually went into being a lawyer. I also discovered that I did not even enjoy politics. It wasn’t until freshman year of college that I decided to go into Communication Studies. And it took until last year to begin looking into Human Resource Development jobs.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Like many young boys, I wanted to be a professional athlete. Sometimes I wanted to play baseball, sometimes soccer, but usually basketball. I admired the life and abilities of a professional athlete. They are rich, famous, entertaining, and the best at the sports we all play growing up. I wanted to be a basketball player, more than anything else, because it was always fun playing basketball and pretending to be Michael Jordan, Shaq, or in my case Reggie Miller. Reggie Miller was always my favorite basketball player, and whenever I played basketball with my friends, I would pretend I was Reggie, and hoist up three pointers.

    Unfortunately, I am not still pursuing this career path. Perhaps, it is because I want to be something else now, and have a different career, or maybe it is because I am just not that good at basketball. Either way, the answer is no, I am not still pursuing the career path I had planned on when I was seven years old.

    I wish I could still pursue this career, but being almost 22 years old, not so great at basketball, and pretty out of shape, I don’t think my odds are too good at making it to the NBA or any other professional basketball league. For now I think I’ll focus on another career, maybe something in the communication field.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Since the age of 6 I have loved being on stage. I loved the feeling of performing for a crowd and hearing them cheer for me. It was also much more than just having people like me. I have a huge passion for singing as well as acting. Musical theatre has always been a love of mine and I feel as if music completes me.
    Up until 3 years ago I thought it was a realist dream to one day be a star on Broadway. I had studied theatre for years and performed in a variety of different plays as well as received award. I had also been in select choirs and taken voice lessons for years and years. Most children dream of being famous and parents are always supporting their children and telling them to chase their dreams.
    In a way I feel like I am giving up on my dream, my passion for music and theatre hasn’t changed I just don’t have the drive like other people do. Its hard enough now trying to find a job, but getting a part in a play on Broadway is impossible. Not only that but it’s a struggle trying to survive as a starting actor. I don’t want to live my life trying to make enough to buy food or pay rent. I want to be financially stable. I also want to have flexibility in my job. Being on Broadway means late long hours. And every rehearsal is mandatory. You are also putting on several performances a week, your job becomes your life. I want to have a family and to be able to raise my children, which means that I would never be able to be the actress I want to be.
    Although it hurts me to give up on my dream I do know I can still sing and play my guitar and be just as happy. As well as still put on shows with my local theater company.
    So although I am no longer a Musical Theater Major trying to be on Broadway I do still think I will find passion in my job from Org Comm. I want to possibly find a job in Event Planning, which could mean going towards the entertainment industry. I’m not quite sure where I will end up but I know where ever that road leads to I will continue to find music in my life.

    ReplyDelete
  17. As a kid, we always dream big with no idea that many of the things you want to do in life are very hard to achieve and require a lot of hard work. When I was seven and I thought of what I wanted to be when I “grew up”, I decided I wanted to be the President of the United States. Unfortunately, my dreams came crashing down pretty fast when I found out you had to be born in America, not just an American citizen, to be president. As soon as I found that out, I decided I wanted to be a doctor. I decided this career choice because I had just found out how my grandpa died, which was from cancer, and I wanted to help find a cure, as well as help people in general. This desire to be a doctor became even more profound when I started having migraines. I was in tremendous amounts of pain, and still to this day I have really bad migraines. As the years went on and I got into higher levels of math and science, I realized that becoming a doctor might not be my career path. Though I am not horrible at math and science, it is definitely not my area of expertise, to say the least. I am still avid about helping to find a cure for cancer since it has taken the lives of some people very close to my heart, but now I want to help through Public Relations, and possibly one day working for a Public Relations firm that works with cancer treatments. I have found a true passion through the School of Communication Studies here at James Madison University, and especially in my organizational communication concentration. I know public relations is different than organizational communication, but I am also a Media Arts and Design major with a concentration in Corporate Communication. With these two majors I feel I can excel in Public Relations. Though my dreams have changed, my passion for what I want to do when I set my mind to something has not. I am very dedicated to this study, and I always love learning more and more about it to better prepare me for the work world.

    ReplyDelete
  18. When I was young and people would as me what I wanted to be when I grew up I usually responded with one word, famous. I have always been an outgoing individual. Constantly having my parents' video tape me singing and dancing; an activity that drove my two older brothers crazy! Looking back I would probably base these spotlight desires first in my personality, and second in the activities I was involved. For instance, I started gymnastics at the age of 4 and continued until I reached the elite level at the age of 12. A sport that nicely fed my craving for the limelight I began picturing myslef in the Olymipcs, and other celebrated occasions. After deciding to stop gymnastics I picked up dance, lacrosse, and volleyball, all sports I found I excelled in. I was also accomplished in school and as I matured my fame focus began to switch gears. It went from a passion for attention in physical performances to a thirst for academic acclaim. Today, I am still pursuing the 'famous' career path I planned when I was young. However, instead of the Olympics or movie stardom I strive to be a prominent judge one day. I want to help people, and be known for my mind. My new answer to the question, "what do you want to be when you group up:" A Supreme Court Justice for the United States.

    ReplyDelete
  19. When I was 8-years-old, I witnessed the death of my father. The man that murdered him was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Although, this tragic event devastated me, it presented me with an idea for what career I wanted to pursue. A lawyer seemed to suite my career decision at the time. I wanted to stop allowing criminals the opportunity to get away with tragic events and hurting families like my own. I always believed in what is fair and would fight for those who I thought couldn’t defend themselves. I even attempted to argue back with my mother whenever I didn’t agree with a specific situation. Usually, I was unsuccessful for even attempting because it was “her way” or “no way”.

    Throughout high school, becoming a lawyer was still my life long goal. I would talk to my teachers about practicing law and ask them which area I should focus in. I decided to look into family law. When my senior came along, practicing law seemed to get pushed back in my memory. Today, becoming a lawyer seems like a distant memory. I have strayed away from that career path and focused more on event planning. At times I wonder if it is still my destiny to pursue my “dream job”.

    ReplyDelete
  20. When I was young, I wanted to be a million different things when I grew up from an artist to a gymnast to a singer. However, the most prominent thing I wanted to be was a marine biologist. I grew up at the sea shore and my grandparents had a house on the water so I was always poking around in the water. I loved catching crabs with my net and catching minnows, eels and even star fish with my net and my minnow traps. I even set up an "aquarium" to display to my family all the creatures I caught. I was in love with the ocean and all the critters in it! I based these desires because I actually enjoyed catching and taking care of these sea creatures. Today, I am unfortunately not pursuing this career path. AS I grew up, I wasn't as excited about it and I actually found some aspects of what marine biologists had to do as gross and dirty and thats just not what I wanted to do. Also I realized that there is not much a marine bilologist could do with their degree and I knew that I needed to pursue a career in something that I could get a job in and make a decent living off of.

    ReplyDelete
  21. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  22. The fifth grade was when I first started thinking about what I wanted to be when I grew up--we were told to think of our ideal career to go into the yearbook under our name. While most people in the class wanted to be professional athletes, I wanted to be an architect. Back when I was in elementary school, my Mom brought home "3-D Home Architect," which, as you can imagine, is computer software for you to design your own home. I thought I would try it out one day, and I became hooked! I started out not really knowing what I was doing, but I quickly learned how to use all of the different tools in the program. Every time I visited a family member or friend's home, I would try to replicate their homes on the program. I must have designed over 50 different homes over the years, and I did my best to include animated furniture in most of them (haha). When I entered high school, I really began to realize what my strengths were academically. Though I am good at math and science, I knew I was even better verbally. I also began to realize that I wanted to go into some sort of career where I could interact with people on a regular basis. The thought of being an architect-- being confined to a computer drawing up blue prints and crunching numbers to meet building specifications-- did not seem as appealing to me anymore. In my second year at JMU, I changed from a Marketing major to a Psychology major with a minor in SCOM. The impersonal aspect of business and dealing with money turned me off; I wanted to work with people. Now I am interested in pursuing a doctorate degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. I would like to work with organizations to improve worker satisfaction and motivation, and to assist in training and development.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I remember being asked the question of what i wanted to be when i grew up when I was in elementary school. I struggled with this question because although I had dreams of being a fighter pilot, professional soccer goal keeper, and being an actor, i was realistic enough to know that these things probably wouldn't happen. So I ended up writing that I wanted to be a finance director because that was what my father did. Needless to say at that age I had no idea what it was to be a finance director, but I figured I was good at math so that's what I'd end up doing.
    Some things have changed since then. As i got older I realized that accounting and finances extended way past simple elementary school long division. After learning more about different jobs I began to realize the career paths that I did not want to pursue.
    Since then i have decided to let life happen and to see what I enjoy to possibly make a career out of it. I have had a number of job and internship experiences since high school. There are a couple of experiences I have not liked too much but others in organizational consulting and guest activity coordination at Massanutten that I have thoroughly enjoyed.

    ReplyDelete
  24. When I was little, I wanted to be either a nurse that worked with newborns or a teacher. The reason was because I loved babies and children. I have two brothers and I was like their "little mother". I also have a ton of little cousins and when I was younger they were all babies so I loved taking care of them. I could not wait to go to Grandma's and see them and hold them and feed them and make them laugh.

    My dreamjob when I was little has changed a a little bit though. I do want to have a family and have children of my own so that I can care for them and take care of them just like I had with my brothers and cousin, but now I am looking to be an event planner. I still get to work with children though because I am working for a non-profit that works with boys that have muscular dystrophy. I come in contact with boys as young as a few months old. So no, I am not a teacher or a nurse, but I am still doing what I have always wanted to do; work with children. I am so proud of that. I am still helping and trying to find ways to raise money to find a cure. So I guess sometimes our dreamjob as a child doesn't always change.

    ReplyDelete
  25. When I was seven I wanted to be a veterinarian because I loved working with animals. Although I still love animals, I could not stand the thought of having to put animals to sleep or cause them pain. Plus I have this great fear of blood so that does not quite work out. I still however want to work with a humane society in some sort of management when I graduate. I want to use my love for helping animals have a second chance but just in a less hands on and medical sense. I really enjoy working with non profits so hopefully this love will help with me deal with the lack of income that I will be making. My passion has only transformed into more practical means considering I am basically scientifically silly.

    ReplyDelete
  26. My first dream job was to become a teacher. I often remember playing class with my cousins, friends and doll babies. I would be the teacher most often, and they would serve as the students. I would write on my little, white board and make red markings on their class assigmnents. This desire stemmed from my love of learning, interactions with my cousins, and the encouragement I received from my family to become a teacher. Today, this desire has changed somewhat. I still would like to become a teacher in a sense, just with adults. I would like to be a trainer or consultant, teaching people life skills to ensure their success in this lifetime.

    My next ambition was to become a business women. I would always imagine myself in a pencil skirt, pumps, and carrying a leather briefcase. I was the sharpest women ever, traveling the world and interacting with multiple types of people on a daily basis. This desire came from watching television shows, and observing the people I admire in my own personal life. Today I would absolutely love to be this women. I now know that I need interaction, diversity and flexibility in my profession.

    ReplyDelete