When I Grow Up...

 

I missed linking up yesterday with Momfessionals for her bi-weekly Show and Tell Tuesday but thought I'd still answer the question. 

"Tell us about what you wanted to be 'When I Grow Up'"

As a kid I was all over the place with my to-be profession.  At the same time I wanted to be a teacher, a painter and work at Sypherts (a clothing company) like my mom (who did bookkeeping for them).

My mom stayed home with me and my sister until I was in Kindergarten.  One afternoon when I was 4 I was supposed to be taking a nap in my room.  Instead I had lined up all of mine and my sister's stuffed animals and was 'teaching' them.  I found a penny in my room, popped it in my mouth and started chewing it on like it was gum.  I specifically remember telling the 'students' that it was gum - I felt so cool!  All until I swallowed that darn penny and went into panic mode!! Ha ha!  After awhile I finally told my mom what I had done. She told me it would come out in my poop.  I watched for that penny for weeks after that!  :-)  Sorry, silly but gross story.

Anyway, that was my first attempt at teaching.  I have never had the patience for teaching, and honestly, don't really love being around other's kids too much, which means teaching was never for me.  But if I did have the patience and love for it I would have taught 3rd grade - I wanted to teach cursive and multiplication so bad!!!  I loved the paperwork, organization and fun office supplies that went along with teaching (in my head), probably the main reason I wanted to be a teacher.

As for the painter, I have no idea.  I guess I felt artistic for awhile.  Ha! 

The Sypherts gig, that might have actually been the closest thing to what I should have done than all the others.  I still consider going back to school for accounting.  If I could have gotten my 17 year old self to stop and think I would have realized that going to a University and majoring in Accounting was the right path for me, not Cosmetology.  Don't get me wrong, I loved doing hair, but I really REALLY loved Accounting in high school and still love bookkeeping and balancing the check book and filing and keeping things organized and in order. 

For years, every time I'd go to Fareway (a grocery store chain here in Iowa) with my mom I wanted to be a cashier there.  They had the coolest cash registers where you flipped these plastic sheets that were attached to the register to get to the right one for bananas, or oranges, or whatever other fruit or veggie you had to weigh to get the weight for the price.  It looked so fun!!!  I still want to do that but guess what, a few years ago they updated and got rid of those. And just this year they updated again and have even newer, more sophisticated registers that are no where NEAR as fun looking to run.  Womp womp, they crushed my dream.  :-(

In the end, I went to Cosmetology school and ran my own business at the age of 19.  I rented a chair in 2 different salons and really loved being in the salon.  I didn't love the stress of worrying about gaining and building my clientele.  I didn't love the stress of not making enough money to help support me and my new husband.  I didn't love the stress of always feeling like I wasn't that good at what I was doing and wondering how long till someone called me on it.  That part sucked.  I really wanted to be good at it but I was too young to know how to get there on my own.  If I could do it over again I would work in a professional salon first where they offer lots of education and where I could get tons and tons of experience because right away you walk into a salon with a full clientele and you don't have to build one on your own.  Hindsight, it kind of sucks.  I just want to know what I'm going to eventually learn right away, instead of having to go through the process of going through the crud and anguish.  But life doesn't work that way, right? 

Tell me, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Here are the upcoming 'Show and Tell Tuesdays' if you want to join in on the fun!