I wonder if anyone ever gives that answer when first asked about their aspirations. I know that wasn’t my answer the first time someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wanted to be a pop star. I used to carry around a Walkman cassette player (aging myself a bit here) with a brown box that held my tapes with my favorite jams (Whitney and Mariah were staples), and would sing out loud while holding an invisible microphone for all my “fans” to hear.
Like most kids, my aspirations changed, and naturally I moved from wanting to be a pop star to a Lawyer, an WNBA Player (white girl can’t jump), a CPA, and then a Criminal Profiler for the FBI. That’s what my heart was set on when I applied to attend Florida State University. They have the third oldest Criminology departments in the country, and I felt I was on my way to living the dream the moment I received my acceptance letter. However, when I met with the Dean over the Criminology department, she told me I had a better chance of doing criminal profiling if I signed up with the Film school and started acting for a TV drama.
I was crushed. I sank in my chair like a slowly deflating balloon waiting for the meeting to be over, and found my way back to the registrar’s office to change my major to undeclared. I think I knew deep down criminal justice wasn’t for me, and like any new college student I decided to take some time to “find myself.”
I have always enjoyed my English classes. Where other students would groan about needing to read x-number of pages in some dusty old book, I always looked forward to getting lost in stories of old. I also enjoyed writing/critiquing stories as well, so it was natural that I found myself enjoying my English courses the most during my first two years at FSU. It hit me one afternoon during my sophomore year that perhaps I should pursue it as a major, never mind the fast approaching deadline of needing to decide what classes to register for during the fall term. So I skipped down to the registrar’s office once again and changed my major to English-Creative Writing.
It wasn’t until after school that I settled on heartwarming storytelling as my goal. I’ve always gravitated toward stories with a romantic thread or theme, even when there isn’t always a happy ending (I’m looking at you, Nicholas Sparks), and the elusive “they” always tell you to “write what you know,” or, “read what you want to write.” I’m a hopeless romantic, and love writing the scary roller coaster of falling in love that my characters go through over and over again. I hope you’ll enjoy the ride along with me.
What were some of your aspirations during your youth, and how did it change? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.