September 13, 2010

An Astronaut, A fireman, President...

When  I was a kid I wanted to be a lawyer. When I embarked on my college career that was still my plans. Then I grew up and realized the law is not Perry Mason, or Clarence Darrow, or even F. Lee Bailey. It is not prosecuting heinous murderers. It is not protecting the innocent from the evils of the system.

The law is contracts and divorce and bankruptcy and wills.  It is traffic court and collections. The law is ambulance chasers and taxes. Being a lawyer is defending petty criminals and drug dealers. It is doing your best to defend a guilty person. It is cutting plea deals and prosecuting shoplifters. It is the corporate attorney and the guy out to hustle a buck.

I am not a lawyer. I decided early on I did not want to be one.

I went to the doctor this morning.   I wonder if the doctor feels the same way.  Is his profession what he thought it would be?

I never planned on selling widgets for a living. If I made a list of ten jobs I would like to have it would be around number 37. On the other hand, I like my job.  I cannot remember the last time I woke up and said "I don't want to work today". There is something to be said for that.

If  I were to do it all over I guess I would be a teacher or a chef. More likely, I would be doing exactly what I am today. Looking back and reliving the past is a waste of time.  I made the best decisions given the facts and situation at the time. I can see no reason I would take a different path without knowing the future.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

5 comments:

Otter said...

First I have to grow up - then, I always wanted to be an Architect….

dragonlady474 said...

I wanted to be a doctor.

curmudgeon said...

I never really had a career I wanted to pursue, but I swore I would NEVER be a painter, garbage collector or underground miner. I've done all three.

Anonymous said...

Never really considered it when I was a kid.
Looking back, that might have been an error.

Dick

Ed Bonderenka said...

I wanted to be an engineer like my dad. I had to drop out of UM College of Engineering. After the Air Force, I drifted into maintenance and management positions. Now I'm an engineer like my dad. He never finished college either.
I'm glad you like your job, I'd have been sorry to hear otherwise.

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