This week, I have been struggling with what I will be when I grow up. Every now and then I go through this stage of trying to find out what I am meant to do or be in life. What will I be when I grow up?
Some of my earliest thinking was a veterinarian. But then I left the farm life and move to the "city." Then for awhile, it was a lawyer...but even in early high school, I knew I would never had the stamina to go through so many more years of school. Then before I knew it, I was applying to A&M and needing to pick a college. And somehow, I ended up in business. And to tell you the truth, I think it was my Mom's suggestion after meeting with a business school advisor. I can honestly say, I have never regretted going into the business school (because I never could have gotten back in if I had left!) as a business degree is extremely versatile. So what was I going to do in the business world? Who knows? When people asked me what I wanted to do with my Marketing degree, they all assumed sales. I always said, be a buyer at Neiman's. Well, I did that, sort of, and let me tell you, not all it was cracked up to be. That was my second of three jobs...
The first was a company called Ferguson Enterprise. I sold toilets. Albeit, really nice and expensive toilets and other assorted plumbing needs (I can tell you lots of stories...). But that was not my calling because as previously stated, I didn't want to do sales. After my stint in selling, I went into operations and actually really liked it...but not for the company I worked for at the time. Changes were happening and I didn't want to be part of that any longer.
Thankfully, my hopes, dreams, and prayers were answered when I went to Neiman's Direct. I loved the atmosphere, the clothes, the culture shock, the always six months ahead, and gosh darn it, the discount. But wow, such high demand for so little moneys. The hours are insane, the people--not so much--and nepotism was at it's greatest. After 3.5 years there, it was time to go to another fish bowl--a bigger one.
Off to JC Penney's I was--and this time into the planning and allocation world. Do I like it? Nope, not at all. Will it lead to something more my speed and interesting? Maybe. We'll just have to see where it goes.
In the meantime, I still ponder what I want to do when I grow up. Sadly, I have no clue. I have always hoped that I would find my calling, but I have not. I can give you a laundry list of jobs that are NOT it, but to find the one thing that just fulfills me for most of my waking hours in a day has been elusive.
If you have any insight on what you think I should be when I grow up, let me know. It is always interesting to hear what other people's thoughts are on the subject. Perhaps someone will mention something that they have always thought I could /should do, and that may be the light bulb that goes off over my head. Hint, hint...I'm waiting....
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4 comments:
I love this post because:
a) I feel like I just learned a lot about you, and;
b) It's good to know I'm not the only one who hasn't found her calling.
I clearly don't have any advice to give, but I will say I always thought of you as the event planner type. Does that interest you at all? I can see you planning and executing fabulous parties, weddings, what have you. Maybe I'm totally off -- it's an old impression from back in high school.
Kristin, I agree with Katie and you and I have visited this subject before. Event planning would be a great adventure for you. Plus you could even do this job (part-time) at home, etc. Afterall you did a great job at A&M with Boot Dance and Ring Dance. Both were well attended and were just awesome. You are an overall rounded person and you are able to not only work within the box but outside of it as well. This is a great trait to have.
This is a project worth considering! Think about it.
I too know what I don't want to do... I think that you struggle well and delight in each day the best that you can and one day your dream project or job finds you... you will do that for a while and then it's on to the next thing. I don't think that I'll ever just do one thing... we are not that generation you know. Keep seeking... it will find you. I love you even without a cool discount to NM.
Oooh, I like the event planner suggestion! I think you'd be awesome at that!
I was struggling with this a LOT in college. I was in a computer science degree because I thought that's what I wanted to do... but once I started digging into it I wasn't happy. I didn't really want to finish school, but was so unhappy with what I was doing that I didn't see any other options.
The one thing that helped me tremendously was taking a Birkman personality test. My uncle was paying for my cousin to take it and paid for me as well.
It was truly eye-opening for me. This wasn't just a piddly test to put you in one category or another. After a couple of weeks I sat down for several hours with a trained consultant who had evaluated all my answers: He told me all kinds of interesting and insightful stuff about myself that I had never known.
He made one particular evaluation that made the light bulb come on for me: While I was good at math, I didn't like it. However, I felt that in order to be smart and successful, I had to go into a mathematically related field. That moment I decided to chuck the darn computer science degree and follow my heart - Art!
All that to say... that AHA moment was the kick in the pants I needed, and opened my eyes to the careers that would be a good match for my personality - not just what I thought I should be doing. You may look into something like this - it made all the difference for me.
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