No. I wanted to be a graphic artist. But my parents and the guidence couselor put the kabosh to that. I was advised (Told) to take secretarial &/or clerical classes so that I’d “have something to fall back on until I got married and started raising a family”. Well, that never happened. I didn’t marry until I was 45, nor did I have any children. I was the eldest girl child of 11 siblings, and I’d had enough of raising babies. Which, I think, is why I kept turning down marriage proposals. I was never taught about goals, and a career was just not something women had. At least that was the thinking in the area of the country I grew up in.

I wanted to be a lawyer… I’m an accounting manager. But I’ve had a great life and love what I do. I might go back to college at some point - only to keep learning new things. Who knows… I may become a lawyer yet… or maybe not… I’ve learned that life is full of so many opportunities and possibilities… if you don’t rule anything out, you don’t rule anything out.

Thought I wanted to be a nurse - cut education short to marry, later divorced. Spent 40 yrs plus as an exec. secy which led me into varied businesses and experiences. Not sorry about the switch - now 76 - life was and still is fulfilling. Happy where I am.

Cowgirls aren’t paid as well as CEOs. Thanks to the strong women in my early life I am on a journey to become all I can be … and more. Thanks to Mom and to my Partner Roe - I’ve reached heights I never thought possible.

I finished law school in 1983. I spent the last year and one half of law school going through a horrendous divorce and custody fight for my only child, age three at the time. I have not been able to pass the Bar exam and I feel like a failure. I has always wanted to practice law, since I was twelve, and because I let bad relationships screw up my life, I may never realize that dream.

I never quite managed to pin down exactly what it was that I wanted to do. I still dont really, and have been waiting for thirty years for inspiration to strike, when the one true path will show itself. As one of my teachers once said “The problem with you George is that you are quite good at a lot of things but not really good at anything”!!

I wanted to be a vet. I love animals. I didn’t because I was afraid that when it came time to put one down I wouldn’t have the guts. So instead, I became nothing. I didn’t go to college which was a big mistake. I married at a young age, divorced 3 years later and had 1 child. I ended up working as a clerk, then bartender, then waitress. Please don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with those fields but had I done things differently, we may have just a little more relief from the never ending money woes. The best part of my life is my second marriage which was a hit. He’s great. I waited 15 long years and met and married a gem. I have 1 daughter from my first marriage, 2 beautiful grandchildren and 2 great dogs. I feel like a real failure except for my family. We are very close but, inside, I feel like a failure. I’ve always been disappointed in myself for not trying harder in my early years.

the question is impossible to answer. i have not grown up yet, although i retired last december. :-) by the way, retirement IS all it’s cracked up to be!

No. I wanted to be a librarian and my high school guidance counselor told me there were no jobs for librarians. So… instead… I have been a clerk in a bank loan department, medical secretary, medic and respiratory therapy technician in the U.S. Army, wife, mom, sister, daughter, friend, clerk in the local domestic relations office, child care provider, and technology assistant. I am starting school in two weeks to become and echocardiography technician. Maybe some day I will be a librarian. I’m just busy trying on other hats right now.