[Sophia M.]

General Discussion Thread 07.05.2025​

Greetings, GrayViners!

Sophia here, has anyone else had “I Have a Dream” by ABBA stuck in their head lately? I heard it again the other day, and the lyrics stayed with me. It got me thinking about the dreams we all had as kids, the ones we held onto, whispered about, or shouted from the rooftops.

So out of curiosity, I have this question: When you were little, what did you imagine you’d grow up to be—and how close (or far) did life take you from that dream?

As for me? I wanted to be a teacher. Practically everyone in my family is one—my mom, my brother, my grandparents, and most of my aunts and uncles, too. You could say I was raised in a classroom, with chalk dust in the air and lesson plans on the table. Life took me down a different road, but that deep love for learning and sharing ideas never left.

Head over to the forum and share your story. I’d truly love to read it!

Warmly,
Sophia

 

[Arkie98]

I always dreamt of being 6 foot tall, long black hair and gorgeous blue eyes. Sadly, didn't make it to 5 foot. A determent in growing up for sure. Too short and too skinny to join the Navy as wanted to enlist and study to be a medic.

 

[Wellman]

I wanted to be a missionary and go to Africa. As a teen I wanted to be a dietitian, a goal I achieved. It was not a medical degree at that time but a food production. You fulfilled the diet the doctor prescribed. Medical came with the internship which I was not able to fulfill. After my husband and I retired we devoted much of the time to serving the Lord. That included serving three months in Costa Rica as short term missionaries providing domestic help to a missionary and her family. We instilled our love for missions in our daughters and they both went on multiple missions trips. Our younger daughter went full time teacher kids of missionaries in Guatemala until the Lord took her home early. I also became a certified teacher in a Christian school. When the school closed I got a Master's degree and became the activity director of a wonderful nursing home.

 

[Gayle B.]

I wanted to be a pilot. At the time women could not be military pilots. I fulfilled part of that dream by serving in the Air Force for 20 years. In the service I met and married my husband of over 52 years. I can’t complain!
My 2nd dream was to play my trumpet in a military band. Again women could not do that.

 

[DrWooly]

Took Art and Drafting in High School, wanting to be an architect. After a year and a half into Arch. Engineering money ran out, and ended up working for Gen. Motors for 40 yrs. although I still draw and sell ‘car portraits’ at car shows, so not a total waste!

 

[Hazeleyes]

I wanted to be an airline stewardess but with fear of heights and sometimes motion sickness that was not the best route to go.
When I was in high school I decided to be a beautician. I went to Barbizon and started my training. While in high school for gym I did gymnastics and after school had track practice as I was a cross country runner. Got trophy for 100 miles. Well one day doing new routine between class (one class I was a leader and assisted the class and next class was my gym session) on uneven bars I fell landing flat on my back. (No mat) I injured my back that standing too long became problematic. So I am a beauty school dropout. I did cut some family and friend’s hair after this but not a full time job.
Pumped gas, was a bank teller, sold Avon, sold Tupperware, worked at a few movie theaters (at times I worked a few jobs at the same time and yes I saw a lot of movies for free) and then worked 38 years for The City of New York Department of Transportation. Now retired