Paul Richardson: All I want for Christmas is a clue

When I grow up, I want to be …….? I still don’t have the answer to that one!

Several years ago, I was asked to attend a Business and Industry Day event at one of the local area school campuses. 

This campus housed kindergarten through eight grades, so each guest speaker would visit with each grade on a rotational basis. Starting with the kindergarteners, I began by asking each of the students what they wanted to be when they completed their education. 

Each grade level was composed of a small number of students, so it didn’t take long to get an answer and then launch into our presentation. 

All went well until the eighth-grade class. As each student gave an answered and we moved on, I came to one girl that replied nonchalantly, “I want to be an ‘exotic dancer’ when I grow up.” That was not the term that she employed, but you get the idea. Who knows if the response was intended as truth or for shock value? While I was a little taken back, I smoothly and promptly moved on, but I never forgot the encounter.

At least someone knew what they wanted to be as an adult. That has not been my situation. 

When I was growing up, I was told that I could do and be anything that I wanted to be. As a student I was able to learn and complete any assignment. In addition, I was great at taking tests. Because of that I was able to further my education at will and received many scholarships to do so. The downside of this situation is that I never figured out what I wanted to be when I grew up. Many of things that I have completed over the years were conducive with the skill sets that I had acquired. Some from the University, others OJT, and some from self-study. As I get longer in the tooth, the desire to determine my destiny is becoming significant.

The problem with the curiosity that has surfaced at this time in my life, is diminished by my motivation. It is a lot easier to start something new when you are young and fresh, ready to take on the world. 

In addition, now that I am semi-retired, I have constructed a schedule that seems to resist commitment to a rigid daily regime. The schedule is more fluid and because of that I am less willing to commit to a daily schedule that would require my presence from a set time each morning to a pre-determined time each afternoon. This is not an indictment on any job or position that I have held in my past, but an acknowledgment of my current lack of motivation.

Still my curiosity boils as I long to figure out what I am going to do when I grow up. So, all I want for Christmas is a clue! A clue as to what I was supposed to do!

(Paul Richardson's column The Horse I Rode In On is published weekly in the Neosho Daily News, Seneca News-Dispatch and on the Turner Report.)