For as long as I can remember, I have had people asking ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’
It’s a common question that grown ups ask kids. Many kids have an idea of what they want to be, but I never have.
At various times, I would say something that sounded interesting, just so I had a response. When I was in grade 5 or grade 6, some chemists from the local university came to the school and showed us chemical reactions that blew things up. I thought that looked cool, so said I wanted to be a chemist. There is a photo somewhere of me dressed as a chemist for a dress up day at Guides.
I had so many interests. I like science and maths, I like stories and history, I like learning stuff. However so many of my interests as a child and teen didn’t seem to narrow to become a career to follow.
When I did work experience in year 10, I liked science and writing, so did a week at the CSIRO and a week at ABC Radio Australia. I loved both experiences equally and this didn’t help narrow things down.
In VCE, I struggled to choose subjects, so did a broad range including maths, science, history, literature, and english. All of these were designed to give me a good score for university. Even then, I couldn’t decide, initially hedging my bets and doing an Arts/Science degree (that didn’t work out).
I am now 46 and I still don’t know what I want to do when I grow up.
Once again, my interests and passions seem to forget that there is a box that fits nicely in a career path.
I can do so many different things, I have a lot of skills. The phrase ‘Jack of all trades, Master of none’ comes to mind.
Growing up, that was said almost as a bad thing, and it has been repeated as I get older.
In business circles, I’m told to niche, to pick one thing to focus on, and I really struggle to do this. One thing I am trying to do is to unlearn all those messages growing up that I have to pick just one thing.
If I could go back and talk to my younger self, there are so many things I would say. One of those is to stay multi-passionate. Don’t try to squeeze myself into a box to make others happy. To keep doing all the things, keep trying all the things, be curious, follow the path and see where it leads.
Yes, there are times when it won’t work out, but there will also be times when it will be spectacular and you will change lives, including your own.
Also, it’s okay to not know what you want to do when you grow up.
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