What Did You Want to Be When You Grew Up?
Did you fulfill your childhood career dream? Why or why not?
Did you fulfill your childhood career dream? Why or why not?
If you remember your early elementary school days, you will surely remember being asked this question in school and by your family and friends. At first, you probably gave the usual answers: policeman, fireman, astronaut, etc. As you got older, your answers may have become more specific: scientist, artist, musician, teacher, etc. If you were one of the lucky teenagers who had things pretty much figured out by high school, your list of possible career options became even more specific.
My Earliest Memory
What a Two-Year-Old Remembersmedium.com
The Lasting Impact of my Early Education Teachers
I knew in 2nd grade that I wanted to be an English teacher. My mother, a former nurse, had just started teaching elementary school science. I was always an excellent reader and writer. When I was in first grade, I was the only Black student in my class and my teacher, Mrs. Beckton, hated me and never missed an opportunity to let me know I did NOT “belong.”
My 2nd-grade teacher, Miss Pachurski, however, was just the opposite. There were maybe 4–5 Black students in my class by then, but I was the smartest student of the entire class, and definitely the best reader. She saw the educational potential in me and she made sure to encourage me as much as possible.
One day, she sat me in the middle of the room in one of those little blue wooden chairs and asked me to read “The Cat in the Hat” to the entire class, which I happily did. Then I said to her, “Would you like me to read ‘The Cat in the Hat Comes Back’?” No, that’s enough reading for that day, but I never forgot the positive impact my 2nd-grade teacher had on me.
That was the day, when I was 6 years old, that I decided to become an English teacher. All the way through school, becoming a teacher was my career choice, and I stuck with it. I received my Bachelor's Degree in Education, and my Master's Degree in English and Language Arts, and I was an English teacher and Language Arts Consultant for decades, working with students from the Pre-K level through university.
Even when I changed careers and went into corporate sales and later started my own businesses as a solopreneur, my English language, reading and writing skills, and background as an educator served me well. All through my school years, the majority of my teachers were the best, not counting Mrs. Beckton and my 10th-grade Advanced English teacher, another racist educator who felt I didn’t belong in her advanced class.
Your First Career Choice is not Necessarily Your Last Career Choice
Even though I changed my career trajectory (more than once) throughout my life, I was lucky that I chose my primary career very early in my life and very successfully stuck with that choice.
Most people, however, change their potential career choices multiple times even before they finish high school, and certainly while they are attending college.
In the early to mid-twentieth century, many people started a career and stayed with that career and even that company for 40–50 years until they retired.
That is a rare occurrence these days. Many people change jobs every 3–5 years. Changing careers often, either by choice or by circumstance, can have a positive or negative effect on your entire life.
What did YOU want to be when you were young? How did that turn out for you? We’d love to hear from you.
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Well, that’s it for today. I hope to see you again tomorrow!