When We Grow Up... What's Our Second Choice?!

I have a huge Elections paper due next week.

And yet, I just spent two hours reading up on Christiane Amanpour and Campbell Brown. Clearly, I am procrastinating. And yet clearly, they're both fascinating women.

Which led me think of the following question: if we hadn't chosen the education and career path we are on now, what would we be doing? What was our second choice?

I don't mean to go all Rory Gilmore on you guys, but I think, if I wasn't on my way to law school in September (or if I ever, for any reason, had to change my mind), I would have loved to go into broadcast journalism or, better yet, investigative journalism. Reporting? Investigating? Writing? I would have loved all of that.

Also, I'm nosy. So anything remotely related to investigative journalism would have been, well, sort of... fun. Reading about Christiane Amanpour reminded me how much I used to debate about going into journalism. Maybe I could still do both? Lawyer turned journalist? It could happen in twenty years, right? We'll see, friends, we'll see!

So here's another million dollar question: if you had to change your mind about where you are (career and education-wise) today, what would you be doing? What would that second-choice-career be?

You're in academia studying a specialized field these days. But if you had to take a different path would you...

Be a scientist?

An astronaut?

A writer?

A shoe designer?

The next Bill Gates?

The next person to steal from Bill Gates? (Hey. Crooks are people too).

A figure skater?

A chef?

A restaurant owner? (Uh. If you any of you choose this option, can you.. um.. let me know?)

A doctor?

A wedding planner? (Two words. Jennifer. Lopez).

A nurse?

A gossip columnist? (This would be third on my list. No lie).

A game show host?

A video game designer? (I know about ten boys who would want this career in a heartbeat!).

A video game tester? (Ditto. And yes, this is a career)

A rock star? (Hey. The Bieeeeebz did it. So can you).

I guess the most important thing is that we love what we're doing, yeah? And that we have the option to change our minds, to switch paths, to go back to school, when we're ready to move on? My point is that we all have a diverse set of skills, of interests. I don't think we should be afraid to explore new options when we think we're ready. When we doubt our current situation. When we start to think our careers are going nowhere. When we're not sure we love what we're doing anymore. Don't be afraid to try new things! As long as we love what we're doing, that's what counts, yes?

And, yeah. That Lawyer-Turned-Journalist-And-Gossip-Columnist-On-The-Side option? You better believe that's still an option for me. Perez, you better watch your back.

"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."
- Dorothy Nevill