When you were young, what did you want to be when u grow up?

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veternarian... Everyone keeps saying I should be a computer programer or a lawer.

Last edited by PunkyKat on 18 Dec 2008, 5:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I always wanted to be a child forever

Aside from that I went through a couple of things: of course veterinarian, garbage truck driver, cake decorator and most recently website designer/web master.

I'm a sales order entry person.

astronaut, then pilot, now I just want to be happy. still working on that one.

I wanted to be vet or an animal trainer at sea world.

I regret now not becoming a vet.

Professional Student or a private detective who had access to a big library.

I've met my share of surgeons and all of them seemed to me to be on the spectrum...

anyway, I've always wanted to be a truck driver, first and foremost. I had a truck obsession as a kid and I absolutely loved Sam Peckinpah's "Convoy" (a film about trucks). I still love trucks more than I probably should...

when I reached secondary school I lost any ambition I'd ever had for accomplishing anything, ever. it took me years to realise that the only constant interest in my life had been writing and that making up stories as well as recording other people's stories is the only thing I can do well and at the same time enjoy it.

I'm probably never going to make a living out of it though, so I guess I'm in the same position as the OP and yes, it does suck. big time.

I wanted to be a teacher of the blind. (How's that for irony?) I really admired Anne Sullivan, Helen Keller's teacher and I lived in the vicinity of the Perkins School for the Blind when I was a kid. I still admire the work they do and I send a donation now and again.

The question of “what do I want to be” is a question I am once again considering. I'll share why, because I don't think I've shared a ton about myself here yet. My apologies if this gets a bit long.

I was just diagnosed with AS a few weeks ago, and have only know about AS for about 5 months. So I'm approaching this question again with a different perspective. I'll explain what I mean.

The first job I considered when I was still in school was to be a chef. Not to bag on chefs, but I though “that would be easy enough”. My self perspective at the time was “I have a learning disability, so I must not be very smart”. I figured cooking wouldn't be too difficult. My self esteem was very damaged do to the social issues that I now know are common for us. I was scared of failing in college even though I graduated high school with a 3.5 GPA. Only one of the classes (english) was easier than a typical class.

AS wasn't in the books when I was evaluated when I was little. I know now what my “learning disability” actually is. I have a visual processing disorder. I can't picture anything at all in my head. Not letters, shapes, faces, colors. Absolutely nothing at all. That meant I was lacking an ability that practically everyone else has. I never knew other people could actually see things in their heads, and they never knew I couldn't. So that is why I had problems with reading and spelling. I was in SLD English until I graduated.

I had a job at Pizza Hut as a cook that developed into a short lived carrier in management. I had come to the realization that being a restaurant manager for 20 years would be mind numbingly boring. And of course, again there were social issues. Managing other people was a bit much for a 21yo aspie. Around the same time, I got my first computer and fell in love.

Then I embraced the nerd and switched careers to computers. I say embraced because I had abandoned doing audio/visual stuff after middle school do to some teasing. So the nerd was concealed from 9th grade tell 2 years out of high school. I got a job doing tech support for a drug store chain while I went to a technical school. I did very well with it. I started to realize that I really wasn't anywhere near being less intelligent than the majority of people that I worked with. Using a spell checker, basically omitted any edge they had on me. I was very good at solving technical problems.

I now do EDI (electronic data interchange) work for a software company that makes software doctors use to bill insurance claims. I'm starting to find the work boring. I also just discovered that many of my social issues had a cause that was outside my control. During the AS evaluation, I discovered that I actually have a pretty high IQ. I don't say that to brag. It's just a huge realization going from a learning disabled kid that had significant problems when I was very young. To someone that is currently doing a job that is far more complex than I would have thought I was capable of and finding it simple and boring.

So now... I'm considering “what do I want to do with my life”. I'm trying to ponder how I can make a positive footprint in the years that I do have left. I figure half of y life is over. And I'm sitting here with a changed perspective. I don't think I will be generating any offspring. Thats how I see most peoples avenue for giving their life purpose. Raising another human being that carries a piece of you after you are gone. I want to do something with my life that will make someone else's life better. I want my life to count for something. Now I just gotta figure out what I can do, with the skills and deficits that are part of me and not going away.

Sorry if that was a bit long.
Josh

besides the positive footprint thing what do you want to do for real?

Since I was 6 or 7,
I wanted to be a 700 year old inventor with a secret identity of a superhero when I grow up.

when I was little I wanted to be the messiah

now Im big anything else I do will be settleing.

I wish I knew. But the career change isn't going to happen unless it's toward the footprint thing. I make enough $ to get by. I'm not concerned about becoming rich or anything. The point of any career change would be to do something more rewarding.

I wanted to work with computers. Still do. I tried to work in health services for years and years and was not terrible at it, but found it extremely stressful and not very well compensated; a bad combination.

Failing that, I'd have wanted to work in the research side of intelligence or some other spy-ish business. No field work for me, thanks.

As it should be for all of us.

Someone like Rihanna or Fergie or Ne-Yo or Kanye West, etc., if not... I dunno, I can't remember.

Inspired by this thread I just asked my 6-year-old "What do you want to do when you become an adult?" "Say goodbye to my family." LOL

A little more questioning and it became apparent he was talking about moving out. He then said that when he graduated from high school he was going to university and then get a wife. I asked him what he was going to do for a job. If he wanted a job. He drew a blank there, no response. I asked him what he wanted to do for work. "I don't know."