When I Grow Up

***Linking up with MamaKat today: Something you wanted to be when you grew up***

I wanted to be so many things growing up.

I definitely wanted to be a Solid Gold dancer. I desperately wanted to be that beautiful and hip and dance to awesome music on those pillars. And you would get to see Dionne Warwick! And all of the famous people that were on each week. But, alas, I was the size of a grown-up in 5th grade, overweight and not very good at dancing. Damn.

I also had my sights set on being an Olympic swimmer. Swimming was my life! I remember watching the summer olympics thinking that I could definitely do that. I remember in 7th grade discovering that I needed to start when I was about 8 years old to achieve that goal. Dang.

I dabbled in modeling a little bit when I was a teenager. I was in a few local fashion shows, a very small local TV commercial and I sprayed people with perfume for an afternoon. But then I stopped growing at 5′ 8″ and my body was only tiny if I starved it. Foiled again!!!

Through high school I thought about being an advertising executive until I realized that I’d have to live in a big city and work 80 hours a week in a high pressure environment. That was not for me. But, man, I thought I could come up with some awesome commercials! At least better ones than what I saw on TV!!

I also had my sights set on being the next Katie Couric. Wouldn’t that be awesome? I could be on TV! That pipe dream didn’t last very long. I also toyed with the idea of politics. I quickly realized that my platform of pro-education, pro-choice, pro-gay marriage wasn’t going to be an easy platform to sell. Plus, I’m too sensitive to be put through all the scrutiny that comes with being a politician. But, damn it, I had opinions and wanted to help people!

In college, even though I was in the education college, I briefly tossed around the idea of an exercise physiology degree. This was during my phase of working out 8 hours a day (obsessed much?) and I thought being a personal trainer would be the perfect way to continue my insane exercise schedule for the rest of my life while getting paid. At some point, I think when Matt came along, I realized this was a really unhealthy idea for me.

All along I kept coming back to two things: teaching and motherhood. Every time I’d look at a career, I’d think about how it would work with a family. I loved kids and I loved school. I also loved being in charge. It was also very important to me to feel like I was contributing to the betterment of society…like my job really mattered. What two better professions that teaching and motherhood to fill that tall order? Money wasn’t ever a consideration for me, but being able to spend enough time with my future family was the most important one. I’m still sad I didn’t get to dance on one of those platforms or have a gold medal around my neck, but I wouldn’t trade it for the four best people in my life.

What did you want to be when you grew up? Did you do it?