Fortune Cookie Friday: What Do You Want to Be?
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
You may have been asked this question when you were a kid or even asked a child yourself. The answers can vary a lot. Johnny wants to be an astronaut, Rebecca wants to be a singer, and Lorna wants to be a surgeon. Rafael wants to play soccer, and Izzy wants to build skyscrapers.
Kids’ answers usually gravitate towards activities they like or feel capable of doing. Nevertheless, they all see a magical version of themselves in the future. It doesn’t matter if the vision is practical; it just makes them happy.
When asked this question, I answered, “I want to work with animals.” Many positions fall into that realm, but at the time, I was happy with sitting in a field, watching the critters skitter through the tall grass while I tried to identify them by sight or sound.
As a kid, I saw documentaries on Jane Goodall and Jacques Cousteau. I thought it would be fascinating to work in the jungles of Africa and South America or discover new facts about otters.
I also loved drawing and painting, but I always considered my works okay. They may have been fine for the refrigerator but not for a gallery. My pictures usually remained in my sketchbook or hidden from others.
I remember watching Bob Ross paint “happy little trees” on television and admiring the detailed illustrations in my field guides. Art was an entertainment for me when I was bored and a relief when my thoughts grew too loud.
As I grew up and experienced life, I held that animal scientist goal in mind. I tried to learn as much as possible and focused on my craft, but the path of life is not straight. It twists and turns through honing talents, making friends, finding love, caring for family, and risking adventures. Along the way, we collect mementos of good times and bad.
Our first job is rarely our dream job. We work in numerous positions until we’ve gained enough experience to plant our feet at our ultimate destination. Even then, we find ourselves shuffling around to learn more.
While in college, I worked as a cocktail waitress on a paddle boat, a cook and server at a pizzeria, a secretary at a construction company, and an animal care technician in a lab. After graduation, I was employed at various veterinarian clinics as a kennel helper, a secretary, and a technician. Not long after I got married, I even earned a real estate license and helped people find homes.
That little girl sitting in the grass could never have imagined doing so much in her life, and I didn’t stop.
I built a loving family with my husband, self-published some children’s books, started my own business, and volunteered with the local bluebird trail. I’ve accumulated numerous positions and titles, leaving me slightly confounded and breathless when introducing myself.
I’m not a famous animal scientist like Goodall or Cousteau, but I am a zoologist who collects data on bluebirds and illustrates otters and other animals. I also might not be as iconic as Mr. Ross, but my works have been in an exhibit, in magazines, in children’s books, and sold to wildlife enthusiasts.
Today’s fortune talks about finding ourselves. I’ve learned that life is about finding a path we enjoy and determining what impression we want to leave behind when we’re gone. What we want to be “when we grow up” is less about the job we want and more about the person we want to be.
Our hopes and dreams may change as time passes, but so do we. I’m not exactly what I imagined as a kid, but I like what I’ve become. As George Bernard Shaw said, “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
