This entry is part of the AW Chain #6. I’m following Talia Mana, who talked about knowing what you want to do for a career.
As a child, I wanted to do a lot of things. I did well in school, particularly in the maths and sciences (not exactly typical for a girl back then) and I remember, by the time I reached high school, I wanted to do something in the sciences. For a while, it was aeronautical engineering or robots engineerings, then nuclear physics, or maybe astrophysics, which I actually started taking classes in university for – but that didn’t last. I even wanted to be, yep, you guessed it, a rocket scientist. 
I even remember that physics class where each of us had to do some kind of a project to prove some kind of principle (hey, I’m old. It was a long time ago. Cut me some slack. ) and I, being who I am, built a rocket powered car. Oh, it was a little car, but still. And even better, it worked. (Gee, in my old age, I’d forgotten all about that. Huh. I have had an interesting life after all. 
)
But life intervened, and one thing led to another, and I ended up becoming an accountant. Yeah, I was really good at it, but still. Boring, boring accounting. You know the stereotype – they’re all anal retentive and have no humour. Yeah, yeah, I know what you say about us when we’re not around… 
In high school, then later in university, I had teachers and professors comment on my writing skills. One commented on a paper I turned in, "I shouldn’t be surprised to someday hear you’ve become a published author." A few others actively encouraged me to do so.
One time, a conversation happened with the question, "If money were no object, what would you do with your time?"
My response? Oh, that’s easy. I’d be writing. It came out faster than I could even think. I think I might have even surprised myself with that a bit. It wasn’t realistic, it wasn’t possible, and no, I didn’t believe I had the skills or gifts necessary to be successful with it.
I didn’t take that desire to write seriously until I hit my thirties. Then I started with one novel which, with several breaks of up to a half year, took me three years to complete.
So many writers I know say that they’ve wanted to write since they were five or fourteen or… I envy them. I envy them for knowing at such a young age that this was something that would bring them joy. I also envy them for starting writing so young. I…
Well, I took the scenic route.
Yeah. I like that. That’s my new motto.
Next in the chain is IndianRaj.
awchain
Similar Posts:
- The Writer’s Path
- Poll: If you were holding a pen on the moon…
- Leave the world a better place
- Culture Shock!
- Sex scenes for the prudes
Did you enjoy this post? Please subscribe to my RSS feed to receive all the FREE updates!
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Don’t envy people who have always wanted…it’s a waste of time. I’m convinced no one really knows anything let alone knowing what they have always wanted. We grow to want what we are proposed or what we come across and we can grow to be excellent in what we choose to do.
Nothing wrong with the scenic route…took it myself, it a round about sorta way LOL
Hey, Razib, if you’re commenting about what I wanted to do, it’s not like I actually did them. :p But yeah, I’ve had an eventful life anyway.
Sury, that’s why my new motto is “I took the scenic route.”
Seriously, when I say that, it changes things, it brings a new perspective. I like it! 
Timothy, yeah, I don’t really, just sometimes and occasionally. Hah! But you’re right, of course.
Wow, you had a very eventful life. I am happy that you decided to become a writer. This is really the happiest work in the world.
Laurie, your diverse experiences can only aid you as a writer, so I don’t think you’ve missed out on anything. And you have proven that. Finishing a novel isn’t a small accomplishment. May you go from strength to strength as a writer.
Hey, I took the scenic route too! I’d ‘written’, I suppose, all my life. Poems here and there- mostly bad ones in highschool- and one particularly baaaaad story that involved Halloween, the A-Team, and a few of my fifth grade classmates. Uh… don’t ask.
But, it wasn’t until two years ago (I’m now 33) that I considered *becoming* a writer. My best friend and I decided that we came up with great story ideas, we could also come up with great stories. (Although she’s been writing for *much* longer.) It’s been a blast ever since.
Nothing wrong with the scenic route..means you have more to put into your words/worlds
Well written post, Laurie. But do you know how hard it is for me to see you as an accountant? Guess that stereotype is hogwash;) I mean, you’re a geek, but in a totally writer-is way.
Glad you found your destination, no matter which route you took.
Writing has been part of my future since I was eight. Didn’t matter how deep-seated the longing was, it took till now to even begin to make it possible. Just *think* of how much less of your life you spent frustrated than me ….
Love the new motto. Nah, I can’t see you as an accountant either, not with al that writing talent that you possess. It’s funny that you asked this very question as your post because I just wrote about the beginning of my writing experience just a few days ago. –
http://writing-from-within.blogspot.com/2006/08/big-chief-writing-tablets.html
I have never decided on what to do when I grow up. The nice thing about writing is that it supports and describes whatever does interest you the most…
Nothing wrong with the scenic route, I drift on and off it all the time.
Hi Laurie. Hmmh… every now and then I try to convince myself that I am not destined to be a writer. Maybe it comes from my brilliant ability to procrastinate. Glad to hear that it’s locked in for you though. All the best with it!
“It’s great that you love writing and that it is the thing you would choose to do with limitless resources. Me I’d pick to be on a beach drinking pina coladas and eating chocolate” I may not be actually at the beach drinking pina coladas, but I [i]am[/i] living on a tropical island…
“But do you know how hard it is for me to see you as an accountant?”
*laughs* Yeah, I know. *smirks* I used to have hot pink hair. Not exactly typical accounting fashion.
Simran, I remember reading your Big Chief post and how it worked over to John Boy. I watched the Waltons but don’t remember that aspect of it. I found it an interesting post, though. Huh. I think part of that post must have seeped into my brain as I wrote this one.
Great post, laurie. I was in my twenties before I finally stood there and said “I want to be a writer.” I didn’t realize right away that I’d always been a writer, I just hadn’t admitted it to myself.
Wow a rocket powered car. I am VERY impressed.
Funny how things happen. I was very into sciences at school. I loved maths and chemistry. I liked phsyics but not quite as much as blowing things up. And I did all the science fair experiments. Then… I became an accountant.
And yes boring boring boring.
It’s great that you love writing and that it is the thing you would choose to do with limitless resources. Me I’d pick to be on a beach drinking pina coladas and eating chocolate :p