Fun Question

I saw this recently and it stopped me. I immediately answered (to myself, of course) … “a lawyer”. I truly thought my entire childhood that I would be a lawyer. I even attended summer learning camps in this field of study. Somewhere along the way I changed paths, and not in a linear direction, but more like in a winding curvy path with lots of forks in the road. I don’t remember how or when I stopped dreaming that dream. I ended up at Georgia Tech with an engineering degree and then worked for The Coca-Cola Company for 19 years in business analysis, investor relations, b2b marketing and finally managing a suite of business websites (that was an atrocious job that finally caused me to leave). :-)

I guess the funny thing about dreams is that for about 17 years my job at Coke WAS a dream. And then it became something I no longer recognized… kind of like that winding path with all the forks. I don’t even know how I was in the job I was in when I left. Ha!

Making that bold move to leave opened the door for another dream job – a travel advisor specializing in Disney destinations. It’s a dream I never knew to dream as a child, but one that I am pretty darn thankful for!

When Daddy-O left me on the steps of Cloudman at GT that first day, he said as he walked away “do well here, work hard and maybe, just maybe, one day you’ll get a job right across the street.” He was the first person I called when I was offered a job at Coke and, in some strange way, it was like I fulfilled a dream HE had dared to dream. Funny enough, from about age 3 if I had to pick a career for John it would be lawyer. I absolutely cannot wait to see what the future holds for my boys. I pray every day that I am here to see them grow up and fulfill their dreams.

So now I’ll ask you… What would your occupation be if you had followed your childhood dreams?

I imagine there will be funny, emotional, and a big variety of answers!

Dixie Delights
join me as I travel, decorate, create & celebrate
Instagram | Pinterest

Dixie Travels
perfectly planned trips & our travel adventures
Book Now | Learn More
Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest

DIXIE DELIGHTS DELIVERED

13 thoughts on “Fun Question

  1. I’ll bet no one else writes this, but I wanted to be a jockey!! As in race horses. When I grew too tall for that, I wanted to work at a horse farm, start as a groom and work my way up to a trainer. However, I didn’t want to leave my home state, and there just aren’t any big race horse barns in South Dakota, so I also took that winding, twisty road and ended up as an insurance agent. I have now owned the agency for the past 20+ years. No horses for me, but I like my work. What a fun question!!

  2. Thank you for sharing your career story. So interesting.

    Shamefully, I never gave much thought to what I would do for a living. I wonder if being surrounded by a community where all the moms were home full time made me assume my osmosis that is the way the world was.

    You do have a dream job now. What I would not give to share all the incredible adventures your family has together. What a way to be able to enjoy these fleeting years!

  3. Growing up I always wanted to be a nurse. At the age of 48 I returned to school and became a Nurse. I recently retired and grateful for the wonderful group of doctors and nurses that I worked with, I realized very quickly that being a nurse is not the glamorous job I thought it was. It was long hours, often spending much of the day measuring, discussing and cleaning body fluids! My mother told me she always thought I would be an interior decorator as I was always redecorating my bedroom, doll house, and all my friends rooms since I was a tiny little girl. I realized she was right and I knew that decorating was something I enjoyed even loved but never considered it as a career.

  4. When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a robot. Seriously! Since I could not find any degree programs for being a robot, I ended up being a nurse practitioner instead.

  5. Oh my goodness! What a neat story! I love to hear how people end up in their jobs.
    I was a teacher for several years and treasure that time in my life. I just *knew* I should teach kindergarten, and would you believe my first job ended up being English and religion for 6, 7, and 8th graders? It was such an adventure! I also worked at Applebee’s on nights and weekends because I was supporting my husband who was in law school. (I never did find my way down to kindergarten.)
    I don’t know that I’ll ever go back to teaching, but I would like to do something part-time one of these days. I am a full-time know-it-all but nobody pays me for that. Ha!
    ~Kandace

  6. My childhood dream was also to be an attorney just like a favored uncle. Today I am a Labor and Delivery Nurse and could not be happier with my choice. As difficult as my job can be at times I truly love it and can’t imagine doing anything different.

  7. I always wanted to be a teacher. I had a very Pollyanna teaching career. I was always at a very academic high school teaching mathematics such as Walton. What a career! I am always sadden by the people who say bet you were glad to leave. Trust me when I say the kids are never the problem. My favorite Facebook posts are from former students. Such a treat to hear from them!! They grow up so quickly.

  8. Archeologist! But, like you, life had other plans and I became a pre school teacher and Mom. Now I’m a new Grandma and retired. It all has a way of working out!

  9. The story of your wonderful path reminds me of what an admissions advisor said last week at a college visitation- if the group of us (about 50 parents and prospective students) jointly listed all the careers we could think of, it would total about 150. There are currently around 8,000 different job possibilities for these prospective students and there will be different opportunities in their futures no one has dreamed up yet! My daughter always wanted to be an elf when she grows up and I hope she has many opportunities to delight others in her future! I always wanted to be a ballerina. Ha! Grace is certainly not my middle name!

  10. Ha! I wanted to be one of the Angels. As in “Charlie’s Angels”. They just seemed so cool to me, solving crimes and working together as detectives. As a young teenager, I decided I wanted to be a music teacher. I studied and practiced and performed as much as I could and had a great experience at Baylor University pursuing a music education degree. I have been teaching choral / vocal music for about 25 years and I have loved every minute. I’m doing more freelance vocal coaching post – pandemic, but I’ll be back in the classroom again.

  11. Perhaps when I was little, I probably said I wanted to be a ballet teacher. In junior high, my sister was looking at colleges and, on a tour, the guide mentioned music therapy. From that time on, I wanted to be a music therapist. Graduated with a degree in it (and piano performance) and many , many years later, that is still what I do. I have a well-respected practice that specializes in children with developmental disabilities (autism, Down syndrome, Rett syndrome, speech disorders, etc.) and also work with adults with things such as Parkinson’s, stroke, and dementia. It really has been wonderful and I just love to look back and remember all the people we have helped to realize their potential (some families still keep in touch decades later!). It really has been a blessing!

Leave a Reply to Melissa Scott Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *