Our childhood dreams are bright, shiny, and exciting.
Yet, when we think of who we want to become, it’s often not the same as what we’re told we’re supposed to be. I wanted to be an actor. Comedians like Jim Carrey and Robin Williams were superheroes to me. Watching The Mask or Mrs. Doubtfire sparked grand plans of performing and entertaining—before practicality set in.
Can we all agree: pressuring kids to pick a career path is silly?
It can feel like choosing just one outfit to wear for the rest of your life. And somehow we make people feel like they’re supposed to know by high school. That way you can start looking at the right colleges. But how the hell can you tell if your favorite hoodie is the right article of clothing for everything life will throw at you?
Do you ever think about how your childhood dreams shaped the life you lead now?
What I really wanted to do with my life was not the path I followed out of high school. At least, not on purpose.
The Unobstructed Podcast: Episode 22
In this episode of the Unobstructed Podcast, Rachael and I explore the journey we’ve taken from our childhood dreams to the current lives and careers we have.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” starts with feeling a sense of endless possibility.
Then, it turns into a series of unexpected twists and self-discoveries that never really lead to a final destination.
At one point, Rachael said she wanted to be a lawyer. She guessed it was because she was the oldest of five, spending her time constantly arguing. It made me laugh because I remember thinking the same thing about my own upbringing. We both had family members say “you’ll make a great lawyer someday” but without meaning it as a compliment.
Then, Rachael dropped out of high school before eventually getting her associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees. And after starting college as a political science major with my sights on pre-law, I changed majors (more than once). We get into the story behind that, but I ultimately stepped away from college to join the workforce.
Aside from my own experience with outdoor education, something else fundamentally changed my perspective on the limits of traditional learning. And it has to do with joining a family on their sailboat, where they homeschooled their kids while traveling through the Caribbean.
Each of our winding paths shaped how we show up for others—first in nonprofit work, now in the businesses we run.
Ultimately, aligning your personal values with your professional pursuits seems to be the winning combination.
My childhood dream of acting shaped a love of communication and storytelling. The stage may look different, but my passion for showing people new perspectives is the same.
We don’t always get the job we dreamed of. Or the life we’d imagined. But if we’re lucky, we become the kind of person our childhood self would’ve been psyched about.
Thanks for being here! This journey has been full of learning, unlearning, trial, error, and growth. Rachael and I chat more in depth about this in the episode above. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music.
onward.
P.S. If someone comes to mind who might appreciate what we talk about here, feel free to pass this along. That helps us grow so we can keep doing it. And it means a lot.
