Daily writing prompt

When you were five, what did you want to be when you grew up?

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Me at Five

What do you want to be when you grow up? I think I answered that question every year through eighth grade. It seemed to be the first question the teacher asked at the beginning of each school year.

I remember what I wanted to be when I was five years old. I wanted to be a nurse. The idea of being a nurse stayed with me throughout school and throughout boot camp when I joined the Navy. I joined with the single goal to become a Corpsman. Then came the GCTARI test. Every service member knows that test. It’s the placement test where the military will assign you. I knew my goal. I even had a back up goal: Radioman.

The day of the test arrived and I did my best and failed at my goals. My hope of becoming a Corpsman was lost by five points on the test. My goal as Radioman was lost by one. I was assigned to FACSPAC on North Island in San Diego, California in radio. I was sent OJT – On the job training.

My childhood career gone. OJT would be my life in the Navy – routing message boards to the officers of the command. Someone had to do it.

Did I ever work in my childhood goal? Yes. Before I joined the Navy I got my Certificate as a Nurse’s Aid and worked at Bethesda Lutheran Home for the mentally retarded and at the local hospital. So, yes, I have some training. I passed the test for Nurse’s Aid with a resounding A. I had total confidence when I signed up and took the test in the recruiter’s office, which I also passed. I was on my way to becoming a Corpsman until I failed the GCTARI test.

I look back at my life and the different jobs I’ve had. Most of them were OJT. It was a life of training for the next step in my life.

However

There was one job on the back burner that I never considered as work, but more fun than anything. I had a glimmer of hope that one day I would see my name in print. After all, I started writing when I was eight years old. I had young hope with every word I wrote. With every job I held, I also wrote. Everyone I worked with knew I wrote. They also heard some of the poetry I wrote spur of the moment. It was fun. Something I enjoyed doing at the end of the day when I dragged myself home from work.

My childhood goal didn’t happen the way I wanted, but God had something else in mind for me. His goal for me was to become an author. The day I held my first book in my hands is unforgettable.

I caressed this book. Looked it over, turned it over, read my name on the cover and eventually put it on my shelf. Eight other books have joined it on the shelf and I continue to do what God intended for me. His goal for my life and mine differ. However, no training is ever wasted as I have used everything I learned in the books I write. I even used the training I received as a nurse’s aid in raising my children. Nothing is ever lost.

Thanks for reading. What was your childhood dream career? Let me know in the comments. The images belong to me.