The Paths Not Chosen

Next month I will celebrate my 31st birthday.  I feel like every additional candle on my cake comes with added clarity, confidence, and purpose.   Facing life's challenges is significantly easier when you have a handle on your own strengths and weaknesses.  Having a road map of where you've been and a decent idea of where you're headed also provides a framework for making important decisions.  It's crazy to me that we expect people in their late teens and early 20's to have a firm grasp on who they are and make decisions that will dictate the rest of their lives.  

I for one, had a pretty limited idea of my internal workings at 22, let alone 17.  Fortunately for me, I made decisions that worked out.  My limited experiences and knowledge of the world and myself ended up being enough to aid me in choosing a career, life partner (or at least showing me who not to chose), and social circle.  We place a lot of pressure on our young people.  It seems to me decisions about college, majors, and career paths all come far too soon.  Not to say that you can't change your mind.  I read somewhere that the average adult changes careers 7 times, that's a lot of big moves.  I don't know about you, but the idea of changing careers at this point in my life, with my three kids and monster mortgage, doesn't seem very realistic, let alone intriguing.  

Even tough I am fairly happy with the education and career related decisions I've made that have ultimately led me to a job that I enjoy and that is well suited for me, I can't help but think about the careers I might have pursued had a I known a little more about my interests and talents back at the turn of the millennium.   When my school counselor days are particularly stressful and my paychecks appear increasingly meager, I fantasize about the path(s) not chosen.  Here are what my dreams are made of:

Parrell Universe Bri #1- Sideline NFL Reporter (aka the token female on the football field)

Picture this, me dressed in the cutest, yet least practical, winter hat you have ever seen.  My hair curled in tiny ringlets flying with abandon around my face.  My clothes causal but hip.  My expression playful but with an edge.  Interviewing huge and hard hitting linebackers. The quarterback after the 40 yard throw. The coach after the overtime win.  Never again would a family friend assume my husband was the football fan.  People would ask me to explain the intricacies of the game, instead of assuming I am only there to cook or provide beverages.  

What Might Have Been #2- Marketing/Advertising- The Jingle Girl

Coming up with snappy songs, corny catch phrases, and rapping rhymes is in my blood.  So it only makes sense that big business should be knocking down my door for my next million dollar marketing campaign.  Of course, I would be such a prized possession to my firm that I would be able to work from home most days and have a sea of personal assistants to make sure my mind would be totally clear for magic.  

It Could Happen #3- The Millionaire Matchmaker

Now this is one future I have actually considered making a reality.  Having watched a friend or two try to find love on the www, I know it isn't for everybody.  I also know, in part from my own experience, that most people aren't actually aware of what they really need/want from a partner.  My business would provide "Millionaire Matchmaker" (as in the tv show) type of services at a price that the average joe could afford.  I'm not going to get too into the specifics because, who knows, this might be a career move worth taking a chance on someday.  

In Another Life #4-Movie Producer- Character Development

I consider myself an excellent judge of quality movies and television shows because I think I get people, I know what makes them tick and I can sense sincerity.   Nothing turns me off faster than one-diamenial characters.  When I'm watching or reading my fiction, I want to believe the person portrayed could come walking through my door at any moment because their existence seems so tangible, so sure.  I think I could do a decent job making sure that characters on the big and small screen matter to people and raise in them a real feeling and connection.  Plus I think it would be really fun to carry one of those snappy, black and white things and yell "CUT" and "ACTION".  

Back To Reality

Like I said, my actual career is pretty awesome most days.  I mean, my office is filled with Play-Doh, puppets, and fidgets.  I really can't complain.  But on the days I need a mental vacation to a new career land, it helps to have some images all ready to go.  So, now it's only fair that you share yours too.  Here's your time machine set to go back before kids, before mortgages, before life seemed to have you too entangled for flexibility.  Tell me, my friend, what would you be?