Friday Fun: Who you wanted to be as a child?

[Zuzanna Perkowska]

Hey everybody!

It's my first post here (in Atlassian) and in this community :) Today is my turn to ask you Friday's question.

What was your dream when you were a child? Who you wanted to be and why? 

Share some genius idea.

I start first: I wanted to be a vet. I love dogs and as a child, I thought that every vet earns a lot of money and have a big house and a great husband (or wife). That was my dream to high school. Now I'm working in SolDevelo and I don't regret that I won't be a vet haha  

[Vinod Ramadoss]

That is interesting,  and good to know about you Zuzzanna. Thanks for kick starting september fun friday.

Am Vinod, am new to this community as well.

In my childhood,  i used to sit and stare at the night sky, i used to constantly have this thought inside that just like me watching the stars there could be someone watching the earth from there, and wanted to become that proud space traveller when grown up.

However, here i am playing the role of Agile program manager in a leading ecommerce organisation, and still watching the night sky whenever i find time :)

[Zuzanna Perkowska]

Hey, nice to meet you!

Have you ever wondered about what could happen if you really be a space traveller? How your life will look like?

[Vinod Ramadoss]

It would have been happy as well, may be slightly more happy because a sense of satisfaction having achieved my childhood dream.

[Jimmy Seddon]

This is a great question/conversation starter! 

When I was little I really wanted to be Spider-man!  Let's be honest I still do I just haven't been able to find that radioactive spider yet.

When I got to High School, I played a lot of video games and I took my first programming course (a generalized combination of Cobol, Pascal and VB).  I thought I wanted to get into Game Development until I got to College where I realized that creating wasn't nearly as fun and exciting as playing them.  But I still enjoyed software development but more from an automation stand point. 

Now I work on a team where we are constantly finding new creative ways to do less manual work by writing scripts that will build and deploy our applications for us.

And since I doubt I will ever find that radioactive spider I'll just continue playing the Spider-man video games where I can pretend I can climb walls and shoot webs :D

-Jimmy

[Vinod Ramadoss]

Great to know about you Jimmy, happy to be connected.

[Scott Theus]

I love telling this story....

When I was a 6 or so I wanted to be an engineer. I remember telling everyone that when I grew up I was going to engineering school and would be the best engineer in the world. I was really Really REALLY excited about it, and literally everyone would tell me how great it was that I knew what I wanted do. (I was 6...that's how I remember it!)

My grandfather was an engineer for Ford, among other things he designed the engine block moldings for some of the early Ford muscle cars. We had a long talk during a Christmas break where he showed me some of his designs, his drafting tools, a few slide rules, and other stuff. He was quite proud...a grandson was following in his footsteps. 

During that talk he kept asking if I was good at math. I mean, I was OKAY at it, but it certainly wasn't my best subject. He kept stressing...I had to study. I had to be really good at math if I was going to be an engineer. 

That's when I asked "Grandpa, why do I need to know so much math to drive a train?"

-Scott

[Daniel Kaufman]

I literally had the same thing as a kid! I though a train conductor and engineer were synonymous. Glad I wasn't the only one

[Vinod Ramadoss]

It always excites me when its about muscle cars, Ford being pioneers in it if am not wrong.

Great Scott, happy to be connected

[DPKJ]

I always wanted to become an engineer, and the only reason is my Grand Father.

I belong to long lineage of carpenters, and I have seen mastery of my Grandpa, and his ability to mold block of wood into anything he desire. When I was child, I use to walk around his workshop, I still remember the day when he bought me small wood work tools.

I am an engineer today, but only software.

[Gonchik Tsymzhitov]

I always wanted to be helper for the person. Who do good things and share the knowledge. 

Therefore as imagine I would say to be Robin Hood :) 

[Matt Doar]

We were just talking about this at work over lunch.

1. Marine biologist, Jacques Cousteau

2. Astronaut

3. Helping other people in some way

So I made it with the third one.

[Davin Studer]

Thumbs up for #2.

[Davin Studer]

I wanted to be an astronaut because I thought it would be so cool to be able to float in the middle of the shuttle and not fall. Almost like being able to fly.

[Inactive Stephen]

I wanted to be a Fire Engine - not a Fireman, I wanted to be the actual Fire Engine. I had this fascination with the vehicle and its lights and how fast it could drive.

I don't think my parents had the heart to tell me how this was infeasible at the time - it was when I was very young, perhaps 5-6 :P.

As I progressed through high school my ideas were more realistic - I did a lot of online gaming and I know I wanted to work in or with technology - some things do come true!

Ste

[Jodi LeBlanc]

Hi @Zuzanna Perkowska I also wanted to be a vet since about 12 years old. I went through sciences in highschool and University - volunteered at the Atlantic Vet college and Abegweit Vet. I assisted with several surgeries on small and large animals, dissected many animals through my lab work at University, however the day I had to assist with a euthanasia, that was it for me. It was a beautiful 15 year old pug, he looked at me with those beautiful brown eyes and then he was gone. Months later I still wasn't over it, it affected me so much. I realized I didn't have a big enough shield over my heart to do that again, whereas an amazing vet can protect their heart knowing it is the right thing for the animal.

I am still a huge animal lover and have friends who are vets, but I have not regrets of not becoming one.

[Jimmy Seddon]

@Jodi LeBlanc I never really thought about the "hard" side of being a vet.  I can't imagine how hard that must have been to be a part of.

[Jodi LeBlanc]

Thanks so much Jimmy! Yes it was tough for sure, but there are those amazing vets out there that know it is the best thing for the animal and break their own hearts every day for the benefit of the animal. Tough job but so important. Wish I had have had the strength to prevail.

[Pavel Junek]

Hi all!

It may be strange, but as a kid I wanted to be a garbage man. I liked the garbage truck driving on the car :-D.

Today, as an adult, I would probably not choose this profession :-)

Cheers!

Pavel

[Deepanshu Natani]

In my childhood, I was fond of cars.

I would keep on collecting photos of cars (used to cut photos from news papers, pamphlet or any other source), collect hot wheels cars, toy cars, everything related to cars that I could get.

I used to know stuff about all new cars that were launched in India.

I wanted to become an automobile engineer.

Today, I am an engineer, but software and I am glad that I chose to become a software engineer :-)

[Angélica Luz]

That's a really great post that made me think a lot of my life.
When I was a kid I wanted to be a vet too because I really loved animals and wanted to save them. I had my first dog Nicole when I was little and when I was 12 years old, she was really really sick and suffering, so, unfortunately, the vet said that euthanasia was the only option. On that day, I gave up from being a vet because I wanted to save and not to kill.
After that, I thought about a lot of things but nothing that was a thing that I really wanted to be. IT came to my life when I was 20 years old and I really like what I do, because somehow, I help people.
I still have this dream to save animals and I became vegan as part of this process to save them, and when I get older, I want to have a farm or a big place where I can have enough space, so I will be able to rescue and take care of them 🥰I'm not a kid anymore but that's what I want to be when I get older. 

[Monique vdB]

@Angélica Luz I love your big heart. 💖

[Monique vdB]

I always said I wanted to be a teacher or the "first female president of the United States."  I used to make my sister and her best friend sit in my "class" and do worksheets. That best friend went on to be a first-grade teacher; I taught writing and literature in college for many years and loved a lot about it.  But then again I didn't know community management existed 😉

I'm still very interested in politics but only as an observer. I'm hoping that my ambition will become obsolete and my daughter can just say she wants to be president without the qualifier. Although she either wants to be an artist or an orthopedic surgeon or to "save nature." 🌲Maybe like me, her career hasn't even been invented yet!

[Vinod Ramadoss]

I loved the last line "Maybe like me, her career hasn't even been invented yet!" , this is so very true for me as well. 

Good to know about you Monique,  and happy to be connected. 

[Ollie Guan]

Become a hero and help others, just like Marshall Bravestarr.

• Eyes of the Hawk
• Ears of the Wolf
• Strength of the Bear
• Speed of the Puma

[Deleted user]

@Jimmy Seddon I actually wanted to be a game developer too. The first time I saw Tetris in Russia as a 7 year old boy, I thought to myself how can I recreate it. I did, about 6 years later. I actually turned my childhood dream into reality when I move to the US, got my comp.sci degree and joined a video game company. Still feels quite unreal that I get to create games that millions of people enjoy hopefully inspiring the next generation.

[Mirek]

I always wanted to be a sportsmen. No matter with type. I always like to watch sport, play, compete with others - starting my carrier as a basketball player but then I decided to study IT and plans changed. But I still train and play whenever there is an opportunity. Sport and activity would be always part of my life.

[Deleted user]

I wanted to be a doctor, nurse or vet until I realized I couldn't stand to see anyone or anything in pain.  Then I wanted to do something with nature.  My schools had very poor career counseling, or I might have ended up as a landscape architect.  I was heading into the environmental sciences until I took my first "Intro to Computing" class and had fun coding a small program.  I found out I could be paid to have fun, and it was all over.  I've been in IT for more years than I can count.  =)

[noel.harris]

Unfortunately, A lot of school counselors were not / are not so great. 

I know ppl who were told they were too stupid to go to college. A friend of mine whose mom was Argentinian and dad was Italian -and did sabbaticals in Paris while she was 4-6 years old and spoke with her in Spanish and Italian while she attended French speaking schools. She was multilingual - when she returned to the states and had to speak in English and struggled, they labeled her as "learning disabled."

This negatively impacted her middle and high school grades and self-esteem. She attended a mediocre college for two years and transferred to a good uni - and you know what? She went on for a PhD in Psych to help kids in similar situations. 

Some people wander and are in many careers until they find the right fit. 

[Jeff Tillett]

I wanted to be an astronaut. In second grade I literally checked out and read every single book about space from our school library. 

Once I got into high school, I wanted to be a profiler for the FBI. Now here I am working in tech LOL. Guess I found out what pays the bills ;)

[Sharon Helms]

I've always wanted to be a writer. For a while I thought that meant I'd write stories or novels, then I thought my true calling was to be a poet. But I ended up a technical writer, and have been happy to be able to pay my bills, too!

[julie.spradley]

When I was very young, I wanted to be the person at the gas station who cleaned the windshields.  Now that everything is self-service in the USA, I got my wish!

[edwin vasquez]

A soccer player! But now, I just enjoy watching it on TV or live :-D

[Fernando Bordallo]

I wanted to be Son-Goku!! Flying, teleportation, fusing ... True kid dreams :D

[Tim Keyes]

Growing up as a child I always wanted to be a Solider like my father.  It was always really cool seeing him at various military parades and ceremonies.  I remember when four Soldiers moving office furniture started to drop the furniture to salute him and he told them to carry on and have a great day.  I ended up doing 5 years in the Infantry and pursued a logistics degree to follow in his footsteps.

[Shawn Kessler]

I am glad you got to be a soldier and my team mate at Jira Align, @Tim Keyes ! Best of both worlds!

[Tim Keyes]

Thank you Shawn!  I am curious to see who you wanted to be.

[Shawn Kessler]

@Tim Keyes Veterinarian of course! Just wasn't good enough in math or science to make that dream come true....

[Zak Laughton]

I wanted to be a VET, then a DOCTOR, then a PHARMACIST. I love animals and helping people, and I always found biology interesting. Then I got to college and found out biochemistry is REALLY hard. So I went into software development instead.