Tuesday, November 18, 2014

When I Grow Up

So this post is super random, but we've had several conversations lately about "when I grow up" and I was curious - what did y'all want to be when you were younger? 

When I was in Elementary and Middle School I ALWAYS wanted to be a vet.  I even applied to the NC State Vet Camp and almost made it.  I didn't and I was CRUSHED! hahaha  I'm pretty sure that my parents even humored me and took me to several open houses at the vet school and I "just knew" that's what I was going to be. 

I hunter jumped horses and read all the Saddle Club and Thoroughbred books and wanted to be a veterinarian who lived on a horse farm.  I wanted Great Pyrenees dogs and barn cats and the whole shebang. :)


In High School, I decided that I still wanted to do medicine, but with people instead.  I set my sights on going to med school and explored that option through my High School's Clinical Rotation program where I earned by CNA license (Certified Nursing Assistant) by working in a nursing home for a semester and then had opportunities to shadow doctors in our local ER, volunteer in a free clinic and spend time shadowing several pediatricians.  I sat in on several surgeries and got to get a feel for the medical field.

I searched through albums for a pic of me in my scrubs, but I couldn't find one.  WHAT ON EARTH did we do before cell phone cameras?!?!?!  hahaha  BUUUUUUUUUT I'm pretty sure the pic below was taken when we went out to celebrate me getting my CNA. :)  Holy braces, batman!


In college I majored in business with intentions of going to medical school and becoming a pediatrician.  I went to UTD on an academic scholarship that covered 8 semesters and I was determined to get my undergrad and at least half of my MBA in that amount of time.  Yes, people.  That's right.  I was crazy.  I took an insane amount of hours and worked crazy hard. I consulted academic advisors, but somehow overlooked consulting God ;)  After an almost-tragic white water rafting accident (that's a post for another day... but long story short I flew off the raft, got sucked into a rapid and was underwater for several minutes) I started listening more to God's plan and less to my own. 

Throughout college I had been tutoring kids in Math (because I totally had time for that! hahaha), and while I was working on my MBA and working in Marketing and Advertising for a bank, I was approached about teaching.  Dave and I had only been married for a few months, but we prayed a lot about it and I decided to go out on a limb and try it - who knew (well, we know who knew - hahaha) that I would find my absolute passion!  

One thing that never changed from age 4 all the way to today - is that I wanted to be a mom.  SOOOOOOOOO thankful that I'm able to live out that dream!

So that's my story :)


Me in my classroom - before starting my first year of teaching - 9 years ago! :)

I don't talk about Dave's job very often, but he's the Service Director for a country club - and his story is similar to mine in that he ended up somewhere completely different than where he thought he'd be as well.  From a really young age, Dave wanted to be a police officer and he wanted to do that all the way into college.  He started working at Stonebridge as a bus boy/waiter his freshman year of college, while working on a criminal justice degree, and ended up finding his passion in an unlikely place.  Dave looooooves to serve.  I know that sounds weird, but he enjoys taking care of people and really excelled in the industry and decided to switch his major to business and pursue food service long term.  Being a manager at a country club is a FAR CRY from police work, and I think that there are days he would probably like to arrest some people :), but his job suits his personality well and is a great fit for our family life.

Since I've been teaching for several years now, I'm getting to see some of my former students "grow up" and have real jobs and it's been fun to see them become exactly what I thought they'd be or something completely unexpected. 

Dave and I often sit and wonder what our kids are going to end up being when they "grow up" and so I thought I'd record them talking about it themselves!!!


Luke is kind of hard to understand in the beginning, but right now, he wants to be a geologist.  I have NO CLUE where this idea came from, but it's been consistent for probably 6 months.  Apparently he really loves rocks and science :)  Our predictions for Luke include engineering. hahaha


Mason wants to be "Green Spiderman" when he grows up so he can "get that grabber and crush that snow up", but we tend to think that he's going to go into acting :)  He's HIGHLY dramatic, can cry on a dime and turn it off just as fast and has a CRAZY imagination.

I think it's too early to tell about Griffin :) , but if I had to take a guess right at this very minute I'd probably guess teacher.  She really likes to boss her brothers around and loves to follow directions. hahaha

So, back to you!  Are you in the profession that you planned on?  A completely different one than what you thought?  How has life turned out differently than your elementary, middle or high school self thought it would?

Deep thoughts for a Tuesday, friends!  ;)

56 comments :

  1. What a fun post! I wanted to be the president of Lancome cosmetics. No idea where that came from. I went to college to be an Industrial Engineer, changed my major my junior year to Elementary Ed (after substitute teaching over Christmas Break) and there you go. I have a Masters in Elem Ed now and taught for 5 years before deciding to stay home when I had kids. My kids are now 15, 12 and 8 and I think often about going back....and sometimes I wish I was the President of Lancome....because free makeup would be great!

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    1. Your "President of Lancome" comment CRACKED ME UP!!! So random and awesome!!!!

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  2. Listen, can I just say that you were good at selfies before selfies were even a thing :). And it surprises me that you wanted to be a vet...as one of your BFFs, I don't ever think I've seen you pet an animal ;).

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    1. Thanks, girl! And I know, right???? I think I petted (is that a word??) my share of animals before the age of 18 :)

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  3. When I was younger, I just knew I wanted to be a teacher! I thought being a doctor would be kinda cool but definitely not as FUN as being a teacher. I had made up my mind that I would teach middle school English and life would be grand. But my senior year in undergrad, God showed me he had totally different plans for me! So here I am now on track to being a pharmacist! (Oh hey math and science haha). I do still love to read though. I love the videos of Luke and Mason! I can't wait to see how much those ideas change or don't change over the years ;) Thanks for sharing! happy happy Tuesday!!

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    1. God's plans are so much better than ours! :) Keep on keepin' on, girly! School is HARD!

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  4. I forgot to tell you...the other day when I stopped by to pick up that stuff from Fave. He was busy and rushing around. In the middle of all that, he asked if I'd like some coffee!!!

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    1. Not surprised AT ALL! He probably would have parked your car for you too :)

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  5. I always wanted to be a vet and then switched gears slightly to journalist and then in college I ended up in Public Health because I wanted to serve. Crazy how God can just shake it up! Love it! Thanks for sharing your story and GO NC State!!!!

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    1. I like how you said, "switch gears slightly". hahaha Seems more like a total 180 :) Are you in NC??? I was in Raleigh for 6 years and LOVED NC!

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  6. Always wanted to be a teacher! & a mama! Blessed both came true!

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  7. love this!! i always always wanted to be a teacher. we had a classroom set up in our garage and my sister and i would play school every single day. full size chalkboard, a podium, desks....even REAL teacher chalk. the shiny chalk not the cheap chalk from walmart. ha! untillllll one day in school, a boy threw up right next to me, and as i watched the teacher sprinkle that stuff on it, i realized that i could never EVER be a teacher. haha! but i do get to me a momma. :) ps. please share the rafting story. so scary!!

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    1. REAL teacher chalk! LOVE!!! And thankfully I've never had to put the powder on any barf.... although on HAlloween I had a kid throw up ON (not in) my trashcan :) hahaha

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    2. Haha, this made me laugh! When I taught Kindergarten, a girl in my class got sick NEXT to the trashcan. Like she walked over to it, but just couldn't make it the last 10 inches to get sick into the trashcan--poor thing! :) I sent the student down to the office with my parent volunteer, put a chair over the "spot", called the office for clean-up help, and went on with teaching. You do what you gotta do! ;)

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  8. Thanks for sharing! I so enjoy hearing people's "back stories" of how they ended up where they are. God's plans are always better than our own, are they not? Enjoy your day doing what HE has called you to do!

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    1. Thanks, Charla! And yes - His plans are always way bigger and better :)

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  9. What a great post! It's funny because ever since I was about 4 my mother always said when people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I always said I wanted to get married and be a mom....as everyone was wanting be doctors , lawyers, presidents, etc...I just wanted to be a mom....I grew up and became exactly what I wanted to be ... A wife and mother....people have always asked me over the years if I regretted never going to college and and having a career....absolutely not....I'm doing exactly what I have always wanted to do....be a wife and raise my family!!!!!

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    1. Love that you always wanted to be a wife and mom - so sweet!!! :)

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  10. My husband wanted to be a geologist ever since he was a little kid and now as an adult, he is. So watch out for Luke! :)

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    1. Really?!?!?! So random! hahaha Maybe Luke will grow up to be exactly that! :)

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  11. I went to college and became a teacher, but the best job has been as mom. I only taught one year, then started having kids of my own (we've had 7). It has been the sweetest thing in my life.

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    1. SEVEN!?!?! How did I miss that memo???? :) Now THAT's a full time job!

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  12. P.S. You would have been a great doctor, I'm thinking, but God knew what He was doing:)

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  13. Wow! You would have been a great Doctor! How crazy of a life change!
    From as far back as I can remember, I've wanted to be a stay at home mom. Somewhere during my school years, I wanted to be a teacher, and I'm in the school field now and have been for several years, but once we have children, I plan to stay home with them.

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  14. I love this! I ask my kids all the time what they want to be when they grow up just to compare it to what I see them doing. I ALWAYS wanted to be a Nurse. Then I had my first child and realized my heart was just too sensitive and emotional to do that job. I now work for a local attorney/judge and have flexible hours to be with my children when they are out of school.

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    1. That's awesome how well your job fits with your family - funny how much our priorities change once we have littles! :)

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  15. Oh my goodness this is so cute! Your kids are the sweetest. Love your story and I'll be transferring to UTD :)

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    1. Really??? Dave and I both went to UTD and really enjoyed it!

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  16. Whoa..you completed your undergrad and part of an MBA in 4 years while planning a wedding, tutoring, AND working at a bank? My goodness! Teaching, doing Slightly Askew projects, and wrangling 3 kids is probably a piece of cake after all that! Also, I'm surprised you don't have a house full of pets now.

    When I was younger, I always enjoyed playing "school" where I was a teacher and my younger siblings were my students. I also enjoyed styling hair and remember asking my parents if I could take some cosmetology classes at the local community college while I was still in high school, but it never happened. I ended up majoring in Business Admin/Finance instead.

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    1. Hahaha - I think I've always been busy - it's just my "normal" and we have a turtle as a pet... does that count???

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  17. Great post idea! I wanted to be a lawyer since I was about 12, and now I am! It's a far cry from Matlock and Perry Mason that I would watch as a kid, but I still think it is the job for me.

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    1. That's AWESOME! What kind of lawyer are you??? I watch A LOT of LAw and Order :) hahaha

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  18. I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be a jockey, with aspirations of being the first female jockey to win the Kentucky Derby. While in England, I was told by a highly regarded trainer that I had a gift with horses. That sealed the deal. Then, reality struck. I grew 5 inches in an 18 month period to 5'5 and keeping my weight at 100 lbs, I knew would be a losing battle. So, I switched gears and did a political internship while in college working at the state level, concentrating on helping legislation pass that would benefit horse racing in my state. Then reality struck again. I fell in love with an Air Force officer, finished college, married and started to move around the US ....a lot! I became a mom to two lovely daughters and stayed at home. My oldest child went to college this year and with a tiny bit of more time on my hands, I went back to work as a substitute teacher at the age of 43. Greatest day so far as a sub....spending the day with a special little girl who couldn't talk but wow, could she ever with her eyes. My hope for her is that people will see her for the wonderful little girl she is, not the wheelchair she sits in or the lack of speech. Humbling day for sure and a few tears on the way home for the challenges she has faced and will face in every aspect of life.

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    1. A jockey??? That's AWESOME!!! And what an amazing and impactful day as a sub! I've had MULTIPLE occasions where I've felt like students taught me more than I taught them. Humbling!

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  19. I just watched 45 minutes of video after they said what they want to be when they grow up. I love the part when Kennsington says she is going to marry Luke!! So cute!! And Mason is so funny! Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Hahaha! My mom told me this morning that I had accidentally shared my entire youtube channel playlist, but I haven't had a chance to fix it yet! Glad you enjoyed it :) My favorite is the one where he says his fingers are "wrinkle-gee" :)

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  20. As a college senior currently trying to figure out what I will be doing in a few short months, it's nice to read that you tried out many different things before finding something perfect! You're totally right, we can make a lot of plans, but what we are meant to do will find a way. Thanks for taking away a little bit of the worry about the future by reminding me it will all work out!

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    1. My biggest piece of advice would be prayer time! Best of luck in figuring it all out!

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  21. I wanted to be a chef growing up. And now I am a lawyer who can bake a mean cake, with plans to retire to be a preschool teacher because I love teaching my 4 year old Sunday School class that much. I can definitely say that God works all things for good... even being an evil lawyer ;)

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  22. I wanted to be a lawyer until my sophomore year of high school when I went and did a job shadow at a lawyer's office. That experience changed my mind. After that I wanted to work in forensics, be a medical examiner and solve crimes. My senior year of high school I applied to two colleges and was accepted to both, Eureka College where I could major in Forensic Pathology and Lincoln Christian University where I would major in some sort of education. I was scared of all the science classes I'd have to take at the first choice (or it was God helping me make my decision) so I chose to do the education program at LCU where I would major in Secondary History Education and would do three years at LCU and then 2 years at Illinois State University and would graduate with a bachelor's in Bible education and a bachelor's in History education. I made it through the three years at LCU and when I transferred to ISU and started taking my observation classes I decided that I didn't have the passion to teach every day. At the same time, I started dating my husband, who was a United States Marine and stationed in California. At that point, all I wanted to do was marry him and move to California to be with him. So, I changed my major to History and graduated a semester early, got married, moved to California, and sent my new husband off to war. It was the best decision I've ever made. It made me a stronger, more independent woman. We have since gotten out of the Marines, moved back to Illinois where my husband farms with his father and I am a stay at home mom to two beautiful little girls. I volunteer in my daughter's Kindergarten class 1-2 times a week which helps fill that education void. God definitely played a part if how my life turned out and I couldn't happier for his intervention.

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  23. Ahhh, your kiddos are too cute! I'm in the middle oft undergrad now but came to college with the goal of being an Occupational Therapist but recently changed to nursing, not a huge jump but big enough to stun my family haha. Fingers crossed this is where God wants me!

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  24. Oh I have quite the story, but I will just give the high points! In high school, I felt a call to youth ministry. When I started college, I majored in Urban Ministries (half theology and half sociology). I became a social worker doing child welfare (soooo hard) 1 year after I graduated college. At the time that I took that job, I had no idea why I felt God was leading me there. Fast forward 7 years. I am still a social worker, but I am also working with the youth at my church and am also heavily involved in our community outreach ministries. Had I not taken the initial social worker job, I would have missed out on valuable training that has helped me in more ways than I can explain in my current ministries!

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  25. I am just going to say...when Mason talks...I am DRAWN to him! He is SO going to be in entertainment!! He's so FUN to watch!!! I love your IG video's & pictures of the kiddos, but especially his comments :) Everything that we have picked for our 5 are starting to come true. We believe we have a boy that will be a teacher and one that is going into the military. We have an attorney or some sort of courts. We have a future elem. teacher and a weather man :)

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  26. When I was little I LOVED to play school!!! My mom was the principal and my little brother the PE coach. I "graded" papers, took attendance, taught lessons, read stories and marched my "students" all through our house and yard as I played. Seriously...I wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember so those years when I had my own bulletin boards to decorate and a red pen in my hand were so sweet. Now I stay home and play teacher when the mood strikes while I work at my other dream job...mama. It was so great reading your story...ps: love your nail glitter ; )

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  27. I have been on the same track for a long time (since about 3rd or 4th grade), and have always wanted to be a nurse and go to the University of Michigan. Here I am! But such a fun post!

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  28. Funny, I posted in my blog a while back about how I knew I wanted to be an Accountant. I organized my classroom's chocolate bar fundraiser when I was in sixth grade, this included counting the cash sales, preparing the desposits, ordering more chocolate bars as needed and maintaining my inventory. I think I knew then I would be an Accountant but as a really young kid I always wanted to be an actress (I'm very dramatic). However, taking an Accounting class in high school further solidified that I wanted to be an Accountant and here I am!

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  29. Andrea! I loved this post. Like you, I wanted to be a pediatrician, but when I realized the time and cost of medical school, I chose teaching and love it! Like Griffin, I am a rule follower and like to follow the rules!

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  30. I wanted to be a Veterinarian, then found out that I was allergic to most animals, that crushed that dream. Then I wanted to be an ichthyologist and then discovered I was afraid of the ocean...slight problem! Then I thought I wanted to be an accountant because I liked math, but while in college took a few engineering classes and liked them so much more then the accounting classes, so I dropped accounting and went for engineering. Go figure!

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  31. Growing up, I always wanted to have Katie Couric's job as anchor for the Today Show. Dream big haha. After going to college (public relations) and grad school (business), I now work in marketing. Love the selfie! I always took selfies growing up which was hard to do on film cameras haha.

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  32. What a great story, Andrea!!! At the age of 17 I started working for a bank. I always always wanted to be a teacher and my plan was never to still be working at the bank. One day my supervisor at the bank said " we know you are going to leave us, but is there anything else you would do here?" Yes, be a trainer, but I knew those jobs were few and far between. 3 months before finishing my BA, a tRainer position opened. I now had an A and B plan and I left it inGods hands. Well I got the trainer job! So now I've been training for 7yrs and 15 total at the bank. I tell people that instead of teaching children , I teach adults although sometimes I'm not sure they are much different! Hehe! I still often think about getting my credential though:)

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  33. My name is Andrea Ramsay from USA My boyfriend and I were happy as far as I could tell and I never thought that we would break up. When his cousin died in a tragic car accident he went back to Philippine for a week to be with his family. I could not go because I was in the middle of entertaining out of town clients for work. He did not seem to be upset that I could not go so I let him be. The next thing that I know, he reconnected with an old friend from high school that he had a crush on years ago and they started to have an affair! I had no clue what was going on until a month after he came back from Philippine.He proceeded to see both her and I until I caught him testing her one night. I confronted him and he told me the truth about what happened. We broke up and went our separate ways. Neither of us fought for our relationship. I was angry and decided not to be upset about it and just keep it moving. Then after about a month of not speaking to him I became sad. I wanted him to tell me that he wanted to be with me and not her. I contacted Dr.okojie for a love spell and he totally helped me! he was able to get him to miss me to where he wanted to get back together again. He had a lot of regrets and felt bad for not fighting to keep me and for cheating in general. He values our relationship so much more now and we are together now! You can also get your lover back with the help of Dr.okojie contact him through his email: drokojiehealinghome@gmail.com

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  34. I knew from a young age I wanted to be a teacher. From early on, I wanted to teach sweet, little Kindergarteners. During my Junior year of college, I spent a semester volunteering in a 1st grade classroom. I quickly realized (about 4 hours in) that I was NOT cut out for little kids. When I started my internship/student teaching, I ended up in a Jr. High History class and LOVED it! I decided that I needed a job teaching History to Jr. High kids. At the last interview I went on, the Principal said she would hire me but only if I would teach 6th grade math. Totally NOT what I had in mind. I ended up accepting the job. 4 years later, I am exactly where God knew I would be all along. And I wouldn't trade it for anything. Isn't it funny how God's plan is always so much more than anything we could dare to imagine for ourselves?!?

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  35. I'm waiting on lunch to be delivered and your blog is the perfect way to pass the time! Love hearing your story! You are exactly where you need to be. I wanted to be a "business woman" when I grew up. I wanted to wear tan pantyhose and carry around a clipboard. Bizarre. I majored in PR/Communications and have been working in the tourism industry for 14 years. My current position is with the Georgia Department of Economic Development as the Director of the Georgia Visitor Center Program. So, I guess I am kind of a "business woman" - but, with colorful tights and an iPhone. :)

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