What did you want to be as a child?
More Than A Day Away by Mike Steely
We all had childhood dreams of what we might do or be when we grew up. I remember that I wanted to be an archeologist after reading books like “Treasure Island” and watching adventure movies on television and at the local movie theater. I got into that interest also because I discovered caves and relics or carvings on the walls left behind by previous visitors.
I’m not sure when that desire to dig into the past faded but I know that a typing class in high school turned me into a writer rather than an explorer. But the research it takes to create a story is similar to the research it would take to uncover an archeology find.
Some of us grew up to become what we wished as a child or close to it. One of my first cousins wanted to be a comic book artist and is, in fact, a political cartoonist and sketch artist.
Curious about what other people wanted to be “when you grow up” led me to ask the question on the internet a while back and I got some really interesting answers. You may recognize a sample of the more than 70 people who responded. Some of the answers will surprise you.
Madeline Rogero: Race car driver. My Dad, a plumber, had race cars that he worked on (while I handed him the tools) and he had young guys do the driving at the Dana Soehn and Orlando speedways. (I remember him saying that the boys from TN and WV were the best drivers.)
Monte Seymour: National Park Ranger
Justin Biggs: Clothing designer
Mike Cohen: Architect
Georgiana Vines: I would like to have worked for the National Park Service like my dad but he didn’t encourage me. Felt I wouldn’t have much of a future as a woman. The perfect job for me would have been the one Dana Soehn has at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Kevin Slimp: Chef
Vivian Shipe: Air force navigator
Cameron Brooks: Coaching the Las Vegas Raiders
Ronnie Collins: Teacher
Becky Roberts: In retrospect, I would have been involved in theater (backstage, set design, lighting, costumes) or movie animation (Pixar!). When I was a child, I wanted to be a choreographer! But now I know my knees would have made that impossible by 40 y/o.
Lisa Vineyard: Nurse
William Padoll: Sports Writer
Carson Dailey: Park Ranger or History teacher
Ed Marcum: When I was a child I either wanted to be a psychiatrist or a firefighter. Ended up as a newspaper reporter. Go figure.
