As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up

[LogDog75]

I know a lot of little boys wanted to be a fireman or policeman and little girls wanted to be a nurse or mommy. I had watched a show on TV in the mid-50s about trains. In one scene, they showed a hopper car was being filled and that fascinated me to to the point where I wanted to be the guy sitting up in the tower controlling the filling of the cars.

[FirstLight]

1. I had two big ones when I was little..

I wanted to be the first woman president of the United States! LOL (I think that was a control issue because I didn't feel like I had much say in my family dynamic being the youngest..)

....and I wanted to be a long haul trucker cuz I thought it was so cool driving and talking on a CB...!
My Dad put one in the family station wagon and we used to try and talk to trucks when we were on road trips 😁

[NoMoreRepugs]

2. Superman.

[enid602]

3. Retired

Retired

[Ocelot II]

4. For awhile I wanted to be a pirate - an odd goal for a little girl,

but I was an odd little girl.

[JMCKUSICK]

31. Lol

[purple_haze]

5. F16 pilot

[leftieNanner]

8. Me too! Nt

[msongs]

6. weatherman, being in texas where things got wild. way to much higher math skills needed tho nt

[calikid]

7. I wanted to be here today, to watch the ......

change from this disgusting patriarchy to a more humane and loving society.

[elleng]

10. Ballerina!!!

>>>>>Lawyer!!!

[LudwigPastorius]

11. In order: Astronaut, Soldier, "Scientist", Mathematician, Astrophysicist, and finally Musician

...and I did become a musician...and, sort of, lived happily ever after.

[Figarosmom]

12. I wanted to be a seamtress.

I had every intention of having my own little shop making clothing and other linens to order and alterations.

[gopiscrap]

13. when I was 8 I wanted to be a Greyhound Bus Driver

until I found out that they went from point A to point B over and over

I thought they hnded you the keys and you went where you wanted and just picked up people as you went along

My first real ambition was to be a politician and a pastor and I have gotten to do both I ran for US Congress in 1990 and was the co pastor of a United Methodist Church for 3 years

[oberle]

14. First a ballerina

Then a school teacher. And finally an organist. I became an organist and at 77, still am one.

[AllaN01Bear]

17. i be t u make lovely music whilst at it . thanks for your gift.

[sakabatou]

15. Baseball player

[AllaN01Bear]

16. train engineer , airline pilot , well u know . but due to eyesight and dexterity issues . couldnt. didnt have a clear

carrear path and glad i am now retired . lovin it.

[sinkingfeeling]

18. Large animal vet

[Emile]

19. I wanted to smoke cigars and drive a Harley Davidson

motorcycle, just like my uncle Herbert.

[Harker]

20. Caboose occupant, lighthouse operator, Zamboni driver.

I didn't fully realize how much work these people do.

[lark]

21. I wanted to be a marine biologist and do research like Jacques Cousteau.

[Luciferous]

22. A lawyer or a book editor. I work in

healthcare, so not even close lol

[Nittersing]

23. A dancer!

Lived just outside of NYC and thought it would be so cool to dance in a show on Broadway!

In hind sight, I think Broadway would've eaten me alive. Not enough self confidence to stand up to the constant judging.

I ended up fixing HVAC stuff.

[Sogo]

24. An actress, which I did all through high school; but when I got to college,

the people in the theater department were too weird for me. I did acting because it was fun; they were in it to "find themselves."

So, I did a fair amount of teaching and writing and finally ended up in the business world and never really thought about acting again.

[Oeditpus Rex]

25. Originally, a pilot

Then, at about 9, I became a cartophile -- fascinated with maps. I collected dozens on our summer vacation trips and soon began to draw them myself.

At 10 or 11, I wrote a letter asking for a job to the Goushā company, second ònly to Rand McNally in production of road maps and located just up 101 in San Jose. I got back a fatherly, two-page letter from a vice president, encouraging me to stick with it and to contact him when I turned 18.

I studied mechanical drawing (drafting) from junior high into college, but for reasons I can't recall, got kicked out of my college class by the instructor. That made me abandon the thought of being a cartographer. I took a year off from college and returned to major in journalism, which became my career.

[LoisB]

26. A school teacher.

[CTyankee]

27. Oh, a glamorous movie star! I wanted to be Elizabeth Taylor because she was so beautiful!

I posed as her in front of the mirror.

[3catwoman3]

28. My most consistent area of interest was biology/science, even in elementary school.

I liked lab equipment - test tubes, Florence and Erlenmeyer flasks, Bunsen burners. I graduated from nursing school on 1973, and worked until March 31st, 2021, so a long career in human biology.

[Danascot]

29. Movie stunt man

[llmart]

30. A writer

By high school I was writing for the school newspaper and then was chosen to be editor. I really wanted to be an investigative reporter for the NY Times. Now I just write posts on DU.

I did always want to be a mommy though and that much I did accomplish. My career was in human resources management.

[JMCKUSICK]

32. I wanted to be a cab driver.

From the moment at 17 when I got my D L.,, I would call the cab companies in Minneapolis every year around my birthday. Red&White Cab Co. Was dumb enough to say yes when I turned 20.
Spoiler: Never hand a twenty year old the keys to an ex cop car that really does have the souped up engine, transmission, suspension etc...
I love love love love driving to this very day, and my absolute passion to be great was probably what saved my life, because I was insane lol, but drove every mile like it was my first. Always learning, and yes, pushing.
My next fun job was driving an emergency ambulance for a living. For another day....

[greatauntoftriplets]

33. A Chinese chop suey maker.

I have absolutely no Asian ancestry, just liked Chinese food. Still do.

[Solly Mack]

34. Hegemon

[berniesandersmittens]

35. A doctor and an ice skater

[NNadir]

36. A cardiovascular surgeon. I was a child when Michael DeBakey became famous.

My aunt was one of the earliest patients to receive an artificial heart valve, and lived more than a decade with it.

I didn't come close to becoming a surgeon, particularly because I'm far too squeamish and in any case would have never developed the "hands."

(My father-in-law was a doctor and rather thought the profession sucked.)

Chemistry is far more fun, so I'm glad to have changed my mind.

[bif]

37. A scientist