Did Your Life Turn Out the Way You Wished?

oldman

oldman

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I was only ten when I took my first plane ride. I was so excited and after my first trip, I thought flying may be something I would want to do later in life. As I aged, I decided that engineering was definitely what I wanted to do forever. It was very challenging and different all the time.

After I graduated from college and took a job with DuPont as an Engineer, it was really good for awhile, but after two years, I had enough. That’s when I decided to take up flying. After just a few weeks at flight school, I knew that I had made the right decision.

How about you? Did your life turn out as you expected?
 

I had (and still have) no idea what I want to do when I grow up. :) That said, I seemed to have fallen into technology, certainly not by design. It seemed to work OK for me, so that is what I did. In hindsight, I am glad that I got off the road as a musician when I did and settled down, because disco was becoming popular and DJ's were replacing live music at an alarming rate. In short, things worked out better for me than I thought they would.

However, I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up.

Chet Atkins told his Dad that he wanted to be a musician when he grew up. His Dad told him, no son, you can't do both. :) :)

Tony
 
Sorry, but I got a VERY late start.
Part of me is still in expectation of it's beginning!
I'm constantly re-inventing myself and have a new hunger for learning physics and philosophy.
There are SO MANY things I want to learn and experience.
I'm not wasting my days waiting for better days.
I'm living my life NOW, but I am anticipating wonderous things to happen.
The past could have been better but the past is gone; It's no more! I let it go!
This life isn't over yet!
 
Taking my que from tbeltrans, post 4

still waiting to grow up
still waiting to get smart
still waiting to get rich
(have settled for enough money to pay bills-still waiting for that too)_
still waiting for dreams I'v not yet dreamed
gave up waiting for a job that was interesting over five years
still waiting for dream home-had it, but got old and can't care for it any longer
still waiting for a 'lock down' memory to return -had a good one, but it ran away
still waiting for youth serum
continued if my memory will return from hiding
 
Nope, not at all.

It turned out much better, which was a surprise, to be honest.

- I never expected to get married, and didn't want to. Divorces are rampant in my family. Not only am I married, I've been happily married for 45 years to the same guy. I am definitely the "odd one out" vs my mother and siblings.

- I never aimed for a middle-class life. My grandparents were immigrants and lost everything in the WWII relocation camps. My parents never owned a home, never had "careers"; they were barely lower-middle-class renters who only finished HS. Although we had a rich intellectual and political upbringing, money and security just never seemed in the cards.

It was a definite surprise to find our serious retirement planning could offset free-spending habits and a personal bankruptcy. We have double the income now we ever had while working (both Spouse and I opted for work/life balance rather than high-pressure management jobs).

- I worked in administration and operations for 36 years and enjoyed it. I met great people while working that I would never have known otherwise. A number of them are still good friends, even after decades. And I learned a lot from various jobs - our CFP has complimented our breadth of knowledge on finances, insurance, investing, and estate planning.

We have some regrets - I think everyone does. But very few, thankfully.
 
Did Your Life Turn Out the Way You Wished?

I don't remember wishing. We are living well. So I guess looking back I am luckier than many.
Were not done living, we might yet have something to wish for.
 
It depends on when I wished. I was 8 when my sister got married. She was 16. I so wanted to be like her. By the time I was 16 I realized she was trapped. I still wanted to live happily-ever-after with the man of my dreams, but I no longer wanted kids after seeing how it was for her. There were a lot of stops along the way, where I shifted gears for a number of reasons, some of them tragic. I hated the tragic parts of my life. I loved what I learned from it all. I'd still like to have my books be best sellers. But I'm not willing to sell my soul to do it. I like who I've become because of it all. I think that's what counts the most.
 
peramangkelder said:
Nope....I never wished for a lifetime of ill health..
Click to expand...

Same here. I never wished for migraines at age four years old or autoimmune disorders that started in my teens and continue to pile up with age. Most of my life I've 'lived to work.' Didn't have much energy left over for living after working, but thankfully, most of the years I've enjoyed the people I'v worked with. Cutting back to part-time has been great and I hope always to be able to work part-time. I don't enjoy social chit chat so don't do club sorts of things but enjoy the camaraderie of healthcare. I gave academia a try at one point but found people to be too sensitive.
 

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