At around 12 every male get’s some idealized goal of what they want to do with their life. Beyond bang hot chicks, owning 12 sports cars and having a bank account that permits most of your wants and needs…at the core of it we wanted to do something “cool or interesting” with our life even if it doesn’t come with a fantasy salary.
For me, I’m not sure if it was too much “Black Sheep Squadron” or a host of other influences but I really wanted to be an officer in the military one day. Specifically a Major. I wanted oak leaves bad, didn’t want to be a Lt. Colonel, Colonel or even a General. Didn’t matter if it was the Marine Corps, Army or Air Force…I just wanted oak leaves.
Thankfully when the day came that I started talking to recruiters my Grandfather saved my ass and talked me out of it. I could have probably gone OCS and perhaps even done well but as he pointed out I’m not a morning person and there is no snooze alarm in basic training and I have a problem with unconditional authority. I have no problem doing something if there is a reason, and I have a pathological need to have the purpose explained to me. In basic training they don’t explain why you are digging holes, you just dig them.
Maybe I’d have come though ok, maybe I’d have been a walking disaster…who knows. At least I didn’t want to be an astronaut, even then I knew that shit was too dangerous for my comfort zone.
So what did you want to be and how close did you get?
I found William Nolen’s book The Making of a Surgeon at the library when I was a kid and loved it. Thought I wanted to be a doctor for sure. Years later, when I did work in health care and had an opportunity to see firsthand what a lot of physicians’ workload and life really looked like, I was glad I dodged the bullet.
Mine was military or law enforcement. Met my what would become my wife before I went to a recruiter. My cousin had me talked into the Marines. I ended up not going after meeting my wife and focused on law enforcement. Now after doing this for 8 years I’m not sure what I would do with myself if I wasn’t doing the whole cop thing. Now saying that my 5 year old wants to be like dad. I subtly discourage it but I would still be damn proud of him if he did.
I got started in flying at a young age with the help of a wealthy uncle who owned several small light aircraft. He saw flying as a hobby but got me hooked. I always wanted to be with a major airline but have settled into a great job flying corporate jet sized aircraft with a major player (the largest) in the fairly young concept of “fractional ownership” (read timeshare for aircraft). I have enjoyed every step of the journey, even though at times it required quite an effort. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing except I would try harder to fly in the military. Some of the places I have been to with my job, I would have never gone to if I had not been a pilot.
I read the same book. Became a surgeon. It has turned to be even more gratifying than I anticipated. I can’t imagine what I could have done with my life that would have made it better.
I hoped to one day be a Senator, to actively push for term limits, and to actually do my job and go home. It’s something that I have wanted to do since I first learned about government as a kid. I work in finance now, so I guess I am heading in the right direction.
I couldn’t have been an attorney. To many issues with morality in defending guilty people and to little pay working for the state.
I hope you didn’t interpret my comment as a knock on the medical profession, as that was not my intent. Some of the folks I most admire are docs. My observations were based upon learning about my own “internal wiring,” witnessing the reality of the profession, and realizing my temperament, ability to cope with stress, and, quite honestly, willingness to put in the hours and make the sacrifices.
I wasn’t cut out to be a doctor but I’m damn thankful for those that are and excel in their profession. I’m glad to hear you made the right call. We need more physicians that really have a calling to serve as a caregiver and love their work.
As a kid I was pretty free spirited with no direction. HS comprised of playing sports, chasing girls and drinking too many beers. College was the same. Almost nothing interested me (academically). Bored and disinterested in school, a wise man (my father) advised me to join the Navy.
I thank GOD everyday for that push from my Father.
The thing about being a public defender is that you defend both the “guilty” and “innocent”. Not everyone who’s charged actually committed the crime, but you have to take the good with the bad, as everyone deserves a day in court.
The way most public defenders justify winning with a client they know should be guilty is by taking a 50,000 ft view of the legal system and society as a whole rather than on an individual basis. It’s how we want our society to be; the presumption of innocence until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a fair trial by a jury of your peers. Being a judge, public defender, or prosecutor is simply playing a role in the system, a cog in the process that we call justice.
But I hear you on how little pay lawyers get working for the government.
I always wanted to be a cop. I have a family member that is the stereotypical, unhappy, divorced (2x), bitter, retired cop. I decided that I didnt want to be like him. I graduated college, abandoned the police thing and worked for an insurance company for 5 years. I hated it. Every day was the same. The paperwork was never ending and I didnt have much fun during my work day. I would hear sirens outside the office and wish I followed through on my plan. I started asking my co workers for advice. Many of them were in my position years earlier, entered the insurance field because the jobs were easy to get, and were now too old, or unwilling to take the chance and try another profession.
I am grateful for the 5, largely unhappy, years I spent handling claims. I figured out what I didnt want to do and developed an appreciation for my current job.
I got hired at age 26 with a local PD and have been a cop for 15 years. I am very glad I made the switch. I havn’t gotten divorced, Im not a drunk and I dont think everyone is an asshole. Some of my days as a cop suck. Most are decent. I usually have a great time at work and am a much happier person now than I would have been if I spent my life in a cubicle.
My advice is to roll the dice. It worked out for me
My uncle was career Air Force and I spent a couple of summers up at Loring AFB in upstate Maine and he showed me the B52’s and That was where I first saw the Thunderbirds. I knew I was going to become a fighter pilot one day, then around 14-15 I found out I needed glasses for nearsightedness and there went my dreams to be a fighter pilot. Later in H.S. I was in MCJROTC and thought that I was going to become a badass mean Marine but put it off after high school. Florida weather, beaches, and girls made me quickly forget about joining the military I ended up joining in the mid 90’s (Army) but did not stay in as long as I thought I would (career)
I am not doing what I thought I would be but I have 3 awesome red headed boys that make me very proud and that is enough for me.
Shit. I don’t have any idea what I want to be if I ever grow up. My job just enables me to have a roof over my head and shoot and reload. I hope to figure out what I want to do some day.
LOL, I think this is the norm for a lot of people. They found something that they neither hate or love, but it pays the bills and lets them explore their hobbies/interests.
