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What do you want to do or be when you grow up?

TheCatWoman

I've never had an ambition, or a goal/s in life, at 63 I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up. I don't know if it's because I was never encouraged to do anything when I was a child, although I was often discouraged. If like most little girls I said I wantd to be a nurse, I was told that I wouldn't really want to that as it would involve carrying used bed pans around. A wish to be a hairdresser was met with disgust.

We had no careers advice at school, or at least not until we'd made our exam choices and it was to late to change anything. Some of the teachers said there was no point in educating us as we'd only go off and get married and have babies.

After leaving school, I was asked what I wanted to do and could never answer, I simply didn't know, I remember being told to search through a filing cabinet of folders about possible careers and found nothing, I was just overwhelmed. I think it also didn't help that a "career" was a fairly new thing, for people of my class, we's always had "jobs", which was a very different thing.

How did you find the thing you wanted to do, or do you still not know?

Do you do the job you trained for? 

Parents

  • I always wanted to help people. I have always done that, though not in the way I expected. I began training in  art wanting to be an illustrator but I quickly realised I was too sensitive to criticism and would be unable to self advocate and promote my work. I changed my major to psychology and did work in a Forensic psychiatric Institute for a number of years, but unfortunately due to finances couldn't afford to take it further to be the psychologist I wanted to be and the place closed down for care in the community. I then after a time I now know was likely burn out, I worked in police custody and then as a police constable in CID and PPIU (Both investigation streams). I was pretty good at my job, especially court files. I did burnout but I do feel like if I'd known I was autistic then it would have gone much better. I retired due to that burn out and don't work any more. I don't think life is as little as a career - nor what you do. 

    Now I still do my initial want - but in a markedly different way. I found my way back to my Catholic faith during burnout and did a lot of helping out in the Church in a physical way. Now due to poor health I don't do as much physical helping out, but I do pray for many hours a day for people - for the world, helping those people and the world far more than I ever did in any career. If you submit your life to God you'll always do what you want, because He gives you that want - and then helps you fulfill it. Often in ways you never could have dreamed of. I'd never have imagined i'd help people in a way much lke a nun these days (I'm a single celibate sort of hermit dedicated to God). But I feel fullfilled. God be praised 

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  • I always wanted to help people. I have always done that, though not in the way I expected. I began training in  art wanting to be an illustrator but I quickly realised I was too sensitive to criticism and would be unable to self advocate and promote my work. I changed my major to psychology and did work in a Forensic psychiatric Institute for a number of years, but unfortunately due to finances couldn't afford to take it further to be the psychologist I wanted to be and the place closed down for care in the community. I then after a time I now know was likely burn out, I worked in police custody and then as a police constable in CID and PPIU (Both investigation streams). I was pretty good at my job, especially court files. I did burnout but I do feel like if I'd known I was autistic then it would have gone much better. I retired due to that burn out and don't work any more. I don't think life is as little as a career - nor what you do. 

    Now I still do my initial want - but in a markedly different way. I found my way back to my Catholic faith during burnout and did a lot of helping out in the Church in a physical way. Now due to poor health I don't do as much physical helping out, but I do pray for many hours a day for people - for the world, helping those people and the world far more than I ever did in any career. If you submit your life to God you'll always do what you want, because He gives you that want - and then helps you fulfill it. Often in ways you never could have dreamed of. I'd never have imagined i'd help people in a way much lke a nun these days (I'm a single celibate sort of hermit dedicated to God). But I feel fullfilled. God be praised 

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