Not Made For A Career
September 15, 2023
I have had so many “dream jobs” in my life, but none of them have really “stuck”.
When I was in elementary school I remember thinking that I was going to be a pop star. I loved to sing, and I sang all the time, so what better career for me than singing? Turns out I have quite a bit of stage fright and imposter syndrome. I don’t mean to say this arrogantly, but I do have a beautiful voice, but I don’t think it is one that would stand out, anyway.
When I was in sixth grade, I wanted to be an English teacher. I will say this to you now, English was one of my worst subjects. I have always had a hard time with spelling and have never really been a school smart kind of gal. Not that I was unintelligent, just that I am not someone that was at the top of my class, by any means. In addition to this, I am not sure I would have the patience it takes to be a teacher. This profession takes more patience every day than I have for a month, so I am very glad that I did not choose to move forward on this career path.
When I was in high school, I thought that I wanted to work for Disney or Pixar and animate movies. In college I took a course where I had to animate a small clip and turn it into a GIF. Not only did I not enjoy the project, I did not enjoy working on the computer. I really loved the messiness, and hands on approach, to physical mediums.
In the in betweens I wanted to be a wedding dress designer, a wedding planner, a photographer, a gardener, a children’s book illustrator, a barista and so on and so on. I have never had a plan and stuck to it except for college.
I had always planned on going to Iowa State and be in the college of design. I didn’t know what major or why I would study art and design, but I knew that that was where I belonged. If you have read any of my other blogs you know that there are a lot of things that I regret about my college experience, but there was a lot that I really loved. I would argue, most of my time in college I really loved, but I didn’t really know what I wanted to do after.
This all to be said, maybe we don’t need to all be career oriented. Maybe it is okay to just work at different jobs throughout our lives until we find something that we like enough to stick with. Whether it be for the coworkers, the benefits or because we love the work we are doing, I don’t know that all of us were meant to work at our “Dream Jobs” and that is okay. I’m not sure I will ever even know what I want to do when I grow up, but I am excited to keep trying new things until I find something worth sticking with.
