I wanted to be an adult but then i realised they were mythical creatures.
^^ This was exactly my path of discovery....I wanted badly to be an adult as the adult world seemed calm, rational and interesting.
Now I am an adult and know better....or I don't. Or I've just misunderstood everything.
To give a more concrete answer though; I wanted to do so many things I have trouble remembering all of them.
But the list is long, and this is in some sort of chronological order:
-I used to watch ballet on Sunday matinee, so I wanted to become a ballet dancer (age two to three).
-I saw Mary Poppins fly with an umbrella, so I tried jumping off the balcony with an umbrella. When that didn't work, I started drawing plans for wings that would be large enough to carry my weight. I saw there was a logistical problem, and I started understanding that gravity really was
something, so I figured I needed more than wings....and that required some full-time engineering which I didn't have the skills to start at the age of four.
-I read extensively up on animals and other countries (we had a massive book collection at home) so I wanted to become someone who observed whale sharks for a job while travelling around the world. I was fascinated with Japanese culture, but I realised there were no whale sharks in Japan. I admired
Jaques Cousteau as well as having read Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea; so next I wanted to become a diver. I then realised how heavy diving equipment was, and that one could possibly drown so I quickly abandoned that idea (I am slightly claustrophobic).
-I then noticed people were giving me praise for stealing art ideas and replicating other people's art which made me think I was some special art-talent. When I sat down to produce my own ideas, I was empty; I didn't have the individual expression needed to become a recognised artist. I realised early on my art was fake and contrived. So now I just paint trees and forests for a hobby, when inspired.
-I had a love for playing imaginary tunes on the checked tablecloth in the kitchen, so my mother had this idea that I was musical. I loved playing other people's pianos, but we couldn't afford to buy one, so that was the end of that. Later on I wanted to become a composer. (I later in life started learning the violin, but gave up when I realised I didn't have enough time to practice due to a busy work schedule).
-In my later teens I reverted back to my interest in nature and natural systems. When I was introduced to the concepts of evolution and in particular genetics, I was on fire. I wanted to become a scientist. But....I was frightened of failing mathematics, so I gave up on the science idea at sixteen. I later wished someone had pushed me harder here, because what I was scared of was not the maths itself, but the idea of failure. I was absolutely gutted. So then I dabbled in literature, languages, philosophy and later on decided I needed a profession and did a degree in dental hygiene. I hated it....dealing with people. After ten years, I went back to uni and have now nearly finished a science degree.
From here on, I don't know. I will follow whatever path that grabs my interest....hopefully I will do it well.
