h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The idea that children have a series of strong opinions as to what they wish to do with their adult lives is something that adults wish strongly to believe (they're pretty much jealous...), but is largely not the case. How many of us remember being asked this as young children and being flummoxed by it? "You mean I have to plan that?"
Kids generally are more worried about being successfull children than about some grand plan for a time which none of them really believe will come anyway.

discuss...

I certainly didn't start considering what I'd like to be until I had too, ie GCSE options in school, about 14 years old... certainly as a child I wanted nothing more than my very own 'real' Millenieum Falcon and a real cool base on the local building site... some extra Star Wars figures would have been nice too

Of course, as an adult, I'd quite like a 'real' Lightsabre now

I think Surrendermonkey is largely correct, although I decided at 10 that I was going to be an architect. Somebody told me that there was lots of drawing and the money was good.

18 years later I can confirm that this is a falsehood on both counts.

I also remember my brother wanted to be a truck driver when he was about 7 or 8. That's not his chosen vocation now, but his job does inolve a lot of driving and he loves cars...so perhaps he wasn't that far off the mark.

So true

I still don't know what I want to do, which isn't particularly helpful (seeing as I'm at university doing a biochemistry - meh, could always come in handy). I particularly hated specifying for GCSEs and then A-levels. I couldn't bare to give up some subjects, even though I may not have like them.


Anyways, I remember when I was around the age or 8 or 9, at school we were doing something with computers. We were asked to answer a few survey like questions (name,age..etc), and then the question came up: "What would you like to be when you grow up?"

Firstly....grow up? eh?

Secondly.. **** knows!
I was stumped by this question. I didn't want to lie, and I didn't think "don't know" was an answer. I was crapping myself. What do I do!

My problem was solved when I looked over at my mates comp and saw Footballer. Ended up thinking, "oh yah! I like football," and ended up putting it down, along with the rest of the class.

Would still like to be a professional footballer, who wouldn't? Just have to overcome the meagre hurdle of my complete and utter shiteness.

When I was a kid, I wanted to be either a scientist or an astronaut. Or a scientist who got to go to space.

As it turned out, I became an engineer. I suppose the younger me would be disappointed that I don't mix chemicals, build neat things, or fly a space shuttle, but I think it's for the best.

I noticed a typo on the page...shouldn't "What would your younger self think of you know?" be "What would your younger self think of you now?"...?

My younger self would never have pointed that out in a million years

When I was young, I wanted to move to somewhere likle Florida or California and be a video games designer. I now live in Texas, and am hoping to persue a computer science degree...so i'm not far off.

Would my younger self like me now? Erm, well...I'm very different. My tastes (in music etc) have changed so dramatically, for example. He would find me very friendly and helpful...but I think I'm a bit too philisophical for him

Maybe not. All kids are born philosophical. They are permanently questioning the world around them and clearly understand that they know very little. The 4 year old son of one of my friends starts almost every single sentence with 'Why...'. Most of us have this quality beaten out of us; not because we know the answers, but because we can't be bothered to keep asking the questions.

Maybe he'd be too philosophical for you.

When I said philisophical, I meant deep, meaningful stuff about life. I totally agree with you,; I simply meant something slightly different...

One thing I think about myself is that my present self is so arrogant about my younger self, and insults him all the time, saying things like "He wasn't practical" but I rather liked that fellow, I think I was a lot happier then...

is getting all nostalgic

Isn't nostalgia great?

it's the method for getting all mopey. especially when you find an journal or list of things you want to do before you die. I've done none of them, I made a new list,

1)Lay Low
2)See number 1

I guess most of us are Jodan, it comes from the simple belief that we've progressed since childhood and that our earlier versions of ourselves must therefore be inferior (like assuming Windows 2000 would be better than '98).

When I see my 18 month old son laugh out loud when he tastes chocolate, I'm not so sure.

=

Arrogant about childhood I mean, not laying low. But I like your style.

So there is some truth to all of the country music songs begging for simple things...

I think it's different for Kids. I always look way into the future. I've had this huge master plan laid out since I was 13. I went through the phases of wanting jobs which were a kid-like thing to want (I even asked once how much you had to pay to work in McDonalds) but by 13 I'd definitely settled on my mission and I'm only 17 now so I can't say whether I've succeded (it's going to plan so far though!).

My brother on the other hand, doesn't like thinking a week ahead and is 21 and at University and I think he still doesn't know what he wants to do.

I think I would pass on worldly advice to my younger self to prevent a lot of angst but I would never change my mind about my future.

I concur on that last sentence.

I don't

On things like, don't drive off this cliff, because you'll break your neck, of course I would advise him not to, but if I met my younger self, I'd let him be, because the only real way to learn things is to do them, and I feel, from watching too many Sci-Fi movies, I'll suddenly die

Is a worrier