Is this what you imagined?

OldNotWIse

We all dream of what we will be "when we grow up" . I found a list of goals that I wanted to achieve before I was 23...because when I was 12, that seemed like a decent enough age. I was to be married at 21, have my first child at 22. I was also going to be a doctor, have my own house, have a house built onto the side of mine for my parents (how insulting to my still able bodied folks!). I was also going to set up an animal sanctuary by the time I was 30, funded no doubt from my doctor's salary and the riches of the man I married when I was 21

Suffice to say that aside from a non-funded near sanctuary of 11 cats, the rest has....well, gone to the dogs.

Anyone else deviate from their plans or like me, spectacularly abandon them?

Is your life anything like you imagined?

The Backwards Man

I imagined being retired by the time I was forty and being a well-heeled playboy on the international scene.

22 months to go.

Never imagined I'd end up with the woman who is now my wife. Met her at 12, she was way out of my league as a teenager, kinda wore her down.

Got that one right.

The rest is less than ideal mind you!

discus

Wanted to be married with kids, with a house by 25.

Nearly 30, a bitter ex-squaddie, back in uni in the UK and single. It's probably someones dream but it's not mine!

McTigs

i'm 41 now and absolutely nothing has gone to plan..... because there was no plan.

i'm in a very good place mind, can't believe my luck

OldNotWIse

discus wrote: »

Wanted to be married with kids, with a house by 25.

Nearly 30, a bitter ex-squaddie, back in uni in the UK and single. It's probably someones dream but it's not mine!

the evasion_kid

Nope,still a bit of a vagabond, it has its perks though.

mahoganygas

I wanted to grow up and become a Policeman.

Glad it didn't work out that way.

Just look at how Gardaí are treated in this country.

discus

OldNotWIse wrote: »

Ok ok it's not all that bad, I'm putting some of my life experience to good use :pac:

fizzypish

Grind my way through college and gain some experience in my field. Achieved this and am not sure I actually like it now. My new goal is to listen to all bill burr related podcasts. When I accomplish this I will repeatedly smash my face into my monitor until a new life plan materializes or I pass out.

Duggy747

Yea, I'm nowhere near where I wanted or imagined to be in life.

Sometimes I wish things could've worked out better but then I quickly remember had I not gone down certain paths then I wouldn't have made some great friends and probably not end up getting married to someone I never thought I would've ended up with who I've had great years with.................plus, I own a load of animals which I never saw coming.

I did manage to get myself an arcade machine a few years back which was always on the agenda since I was a kid, so I have that box ticked at least :pac:

the evasion_kid

Duggy747 wrote: »

Yea, I'm nowhere near where I wanted or imagined to be in life.

Sometimes I wish things could've worked out better but then I quickly remember had I not gone down certain paths then I wouldn't have made some great friends and probably not end up getting married to someone I never thought I would've ended up with who I've had great years with.................plus, I own a load of animals which I never saw coming.

I did manage to get myself an arcade machine a few years back which was always on the agenda since I was a kid, so I have that box ticked at least :pac:

Should have just downloaded the MAME emulator...all the old arcade classics .....life sorted

Medusa22

I think if I'd known at 12 years old what my life was going to be like...well I think I would have just thrown myself off a building to be honest. I didn't know that I'd get ill, that I'd be diagnosed with a life threatening illness that I'd actually had from birth, that my teenage years would be as difficult and as trying as they were for a variety of reasons.

I'm glad that I didn't throw myself off that building though, because even though my life is nothing like I would have imagined, or planned, it worked out so well in its own way, and is so much better than my 15 year old self ever could have imagined.

I doubt that I thought that I'd have a 1.1 degree and I'd be married (civil partnership) to an incredibly endearing grumpy German woman who makes me laugh every day, and I'd be living in an apartment with her and my beloved cat.

Maybe I don't have the career that I want yet (or any career for that matter), and my health is something that I have to battle with regularly, and there are so many things that I thought I'd be able to do by now (like have learned how to drive), but I know that I'll get there, in my own time.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Never knew what I wanted to as a child and teen, completed a bullsh1t Arts degree after school and then further education which led me into working in family business.

Not really happy though and would consider switching careers entirely. Don't want to hit 30 and still have regrets.

Paramite Pie

I'm 28 and I figured I'd be a well paid rich person by now -- in what field you ask? Had a different dream job each week.:pac:

There's still the plan of writing a novel which was always a plan C or D. And people rarely get a novel published before their 30s based on all the research. So I can take my time with that and procrastinate some more.:D

Duggy747

the evasion_kid wrote: »

Should have just downloaded the MAME emulator...all the old arcade classics .....life sorted

I did, since the early 2000's but I wanted an actual cabinet to plop them into which just make it 100 times better than using a controller............plus I've a gun hooked up for Point Blank, Time Crisis, etc.

fizzypish

Medusa22 wrote: »

I think if I'd known at 12 years old what my life was going to be like...well I think I would have just thrown myself off a building to be honest.

Mwhaa ha ha yes! If 15 year old me foreseen my life at late 20's I would have done a swanton bomb into a running combine harvester. My OH is a redeeming factor I must admit.

cowboyBuilder

the evasion_kid wrote: »

Nope,still a bit of a vagabond, it has its perks though.

Remember hard work pays off in the future, but laziness pays off NOW !!!

R.D. aka MR.D

I've only realised somewhat recently that my life will never be how I imagined it as a child.

I wanted to be extremely rich by this age. I also wanted a high powered career where I was the boss!

There is only one thing 10 year old me would be proud of. I was always adamant as child that I never wanted to have traditional wedding. Like never! It was going to two options for me, either getting married on a beach or (when I got to 10/11) getting married in Las Vegas.
I'm secretly getting married in Las Vegas early next year. It happened completely randomly as it just happens to be the easiest, cheapest and convenient option at this time in my life.

I know the exact reaction of my family and childhood friends will be: oh you always said that you would do that.

I've shifted my childhood dreams to thinking about retirement. I want to retire at 50 and split my time between living by the sea and living in the desert, drinking wine, smoking weed and hanging out with my husband and a dog (my future retirement dog).

I hope it works out. Ask in me 30 years!

the evasion_kid

cowboyBuilder wrote: »

Remember hard work pays off in the future, but laziness pays off NOW !!!

Hard work got me nothing but a busted up body...and someone else rich.... One of life's greatest lies

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

This got me thinking and I have to say life turned out so much better than I imagined it would.

al_E_kat

When I was 5 I wanted to be a nurse.........I'm now 27 and a nurse ha!

LDN_Irish

I wanted to be a solicitor who stayed single and only had casual sex like all the damn time. I said when I did settle down I wouldn't get married because I didn't believe in it. I did 1 year of AS level law and was like F dat shiz man. I've been with the same woman since I was 16 and did 4 years on a checkout after convincing her to leave her brilliant job and move to Ireland just (literally, just!) before the economy imploded. I'm now 27 and married with 2 kids. Left the checkout though and I'm self employed and paid fairly well, but not enough to look at mortgages so stuck getting bounced around rented accommodation every time a landlord gets a better offer.

The worst part: I have that hybrid Dublin/London accent that never bothers me until I meet someone else with it. *sobs*

I wanted to have an orphanage filled with adorable babies to play with, I hadn't thought of the various technicalities of it's existence. Then I wanted to breed Jack Russells, I still might.
Then I wanted to be ''A cooker and a cleaner'' -eg, stay home and take care of my parents and granny. I don't know why I found that appealing at all but it's probably something to do with boarding school.
I toyed with the idea of marrying a billionaire and splitting my time between my mansion and the yacht in Monte Carlo (I think I'd just seen a James Bond movie), but I'm neither vacuous nor glamorous enough to go for that.
Then I settled on winning a Nobel Prize (I have my spontaneous humble acceptance speech off pat, it's very good) for services to humanity.

I now work in a University, I'm not paid much but I've my little flat, nothing I need that I don't have, and I spend my time on things that I feel are important, and I get more satisfaction and happiness from that than any amount of money could hold a candle to.

NachoBusiness

Nope, sure isn't.

I remember when I was young actually believing that forever was a period of time we lived for and that yes, I will die, but that being forever away, it wasn't worth thinking about.

I had a great life until I was 18 or so. I had more girls from when I was 13 to 18, that I have had since. I was a little slut when I was young. I thought life would continue like that. Sure why wouldn't I.

To quote the line towards the end of St Elmo's Fire..

Yeah, well forever got a lot shorter all of a sudden.

OldNotWIse

the evasion_kid wrote: »

Hard work got me nothing but a busted up body...and someone else rich.... One of life's greatest lies

Yes, I wish someone had told me that it's delegation and not actually doing the work yourself that gets you to the top.

rainbow kirby

Would have imagined myself as being all career, all the time when I was younger, never really imagined myself getting married or having kids. Not sure if I ever imagined myself leaving Dublin long-term either.

I'm 31 now, happily living in London for the last two and a bit years, in a job I enjoy but that still gives me plenty of free time for my outside interests, married since May to a truly wonderful person and have kid #1 on the way.

OldNotWIse

rainbow kirby wrote: »

Would have imagined myself as being all career, all the time when I was younger, never really imagined myself getting married or having kids. Not sure if I ever imagined myself leaving Dublin long-term either.

I'm 31 now, happily living in London for the last two and a bit years, in a job I enjoy but that still gives me plenty of free time for my outside interests, married since May to a truly wonderful person and have kid #1 on the way.

I don't think I appreciated how much the need for a child would dominate my plans. Initially, I said 22 because I figured sure I'll have it all by then and I'll be at my most fertile etc. 22 came and went and so did the plans. Got to 30 and started panicking, so set 35 as the "cut off" age. Now I'm 32 and nervously flicking past fertility articles in magazines and trying not to do a saddo victory dance when I'm reminded of my fertility each month. It's as if the need to be a parent just bulldozes the rest of the plans :P

Azalea

I never had much of a plan, as I didn't have a clue what to do with my life.
The younger me would still be extremely disappointed with how it's turned out though. :pac:

I'm happy though - your perspectives and priorities change with age/circumstances.

When I was a little girl I was a walking cliché. Everything was pink and all I wanted to be when I grew up was a princess. When I was 13 I was crazy about animals especially horses. So working with them became the dream. In my late teens I realised what it was I wanted to do although it took a while for me to get there and I took a different path for a while. This year I finally qualified.

Sometimes I get sad because I thought I would have been a mam by now and have a partner to share my life with. My life is nothing like I thought it would be but it's really rich! The freedom I have is priceless. The places I go and the things I do. Laughing and being silly and talking crap and just being alive. It's great

lazybones32

I remember making a wish when I say a shooting star (I was told they come true if you're the first to see it) and I wanted 3 simple things: to marry a beautiful blonde, win the lottery and have children. I don't ever play the lotto so there's no hope of my wish coming true...

This is more or less how I imagined my life. Except I'd be driving around in a van solving mysteries.

OldNotWIse

Hatless wrote: »

I never had much of a plan, as I didn't have a clue what to do with my life.
The younger me would still be extremely disappointed with how it's turned out though. :pac:

I'm happy though - your perspectives and priorities change with age/circumstances.

Younger me would definitely be disappointed, but then again do we have higher standards when we are not aware of our own limitations?

NachoBusiness

OldNotWIse wrote: »

I don't think I appreciated how much the need for a child would dominate my plans. Initially, I said 22 because I figured sure I'll have it all by then and I'll be at my most fertile etc. 22 came and went and so did the plans. Got to 30 and started panicking, so set 35 as the "cut off" age. Now I'm 32 and nervously flicking past fertility articles in magazines and trying not to do a saddo victory dance when I'm reminded of my fertility each month. It's as if the need to be a parent just bulldozes the rest of the plans :P

If it makes you feel any better, Beverly D'Angelo had twins with Al Pacino when she was 49!

OldNotWIse

NachoBusiness wrote: »

If it makes you feel any better, Beverly D'Angelo had twins with Al Pacino when she was 49!

That does make me feel better... Another 17 years to p1ss around :pac:

KERSPLAT!

Definitely not. Pretty much nothing has gone to plan. Some things I'm glad it didn't, others not so much

OldNotWIse

OldNotWIse wrote: »

I don't think I appreciated how much the need for a child would dominate my plans. Initially, I said 22 because I figured sure I'll have it all by then and I'll be at my most fertile etc. 22 came and went and so did the plans. Got to 30 and started panicking, so set 35 as the "cut off" age. Now I'm 32 and nervously flicking past fertility articles in magazines and trying not to do a saddo victory dance when I'm reminded of my fertility each month. It's as if the need to be a parent just bulldozes the rest of the plans :P

Met wife at 12.

Going out at 17.

Married at 29.

House at 35.

First kid at...40!

OldNotWIse

Deleted User wrote: »

Met wife at 12.

Going out at 17.

Married at 29.

House at 35.

First kid at...40!

So you waited 28 years!

Neyite

OldNotWIse wrote: »

That does make me feel better... Another 17 years to p1ss around :pac:

Another 9 for me so!

I had this idea as a kid that I'd be married at 25, fart out a few kids and be done breeding by 30. He would go out to work and I'd work part time from home and raising kids. Life has turned out a bit different from that but I have no regrets. Even the crap times in my past have taught me something. The recession has hit hard and money has to stretch -sometimes not far enough, but I'm so happy with what I have right now. A few more quid is always welcome though!

_Kaiser_

Never really had a defined plan growing up.. knew I wanted to do something with computers but not sure exactly what, so did a few years in college, was recruited out of there by one of the multinationals and spent a few years working up and around the business but still at "senior worker drone" level in various Support roles

Then in the Good Times I decided to join the public sector and moved into IT management which rounded out the skillset and taught me a lot and I discovered I was pretty good at it. Still allowed me to be hands on too so things were pretty good and I transformed the place from an IT perspective... until the recession hit and the culls in the PS started - including me

Spent a year out of work which was very tough and hard to keep motivated to apply for jobs in the face of rejection after rejection or total silence as a response. Worse again was the mentality that you're some sort of "waster" or "scrounger" for DARING to claim the benefits you've paid for for years! Not just from people on places like Boards either - from the very staff that are supposed to assist and support you too!

But eventually I got a contract role and managed to turn that into a permanent one and 6 years later I've a Mid-senior Global Management position with a very good team of guys working for me.

In between all this I became a Daddy too which was probably the BIGGEST change (and shock!) to my life but he's a great little fella and it actually helped me with the above too as when it's no longer just you to think of, you start to push yourself harder and less prone to getting comfortable in a rut.

smoking_kills

I wanted to be a porn star. I eh, came up short

mad muffin

Life has turned out precisely as I imagined it would be… shît.

Cee-Jay-Cee

I never had any dreams or aspirations other than to be happy with whatever presented itself to me along the way. I have never really been disappointed or unhappy for any length of time and have a good job, a beautiful wife and two gorgeous little girls. My life has been very good so far, long may it last.

Tsipras

This reminds me of a great Sopranos scene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqTWW6CWC0s

PARlance

House 24, Engaged 25, Married 27, 1st Kid 29, 2nd Kid 31.

As someone said earlier, it could be someone's dream but it certainly wasn't mine.

Witchie

I had the usual childhood notions of being something exciting (or as I saw it then) such as an air-hostess, archaeologist, actress, writer, detective etc.

2 things I was sure of though was that

1. I would never do the big church wedding thing with everyone staring at me and I didn't. Got married on the beach in Barbados with just himself and myself.....the fact that he turned out to be the wrong one is neither here nor there.

2. I didn't want kids. I wanted to be like my aunt and just travel the world at the drop of a hat, live it up in exotic places with no responsibilities......screwed that one up. My baby sister was born when I was 17 and I never knew it was possible to love someone as much as I did her and from that moment on I only really wanted to be a mammy. Everything else was incidental.

Now my 2 boys are 21 and 18, I am 42 and when my youngest heads to college next year, I am going to be like my beloved aunt and travel the world.

I have sorta achieved the childhood dreams of writing as I work as a freelance writer for the web and a lot of the research is almost like detective work sometimes and also do acting in my spare time.

Overall my life is nothing like I imagined it would be but I am just about a year away from making it more like my childhood dreams.

I don't think it really matters if your childhood dreams come true. The only thing that matters is contentment, satisfaction, and if you're lucky, healthy doses of happiness. If life was so plannable and predictable, it'd be a lot more boring than it is.

biko

It's not at all what I imagined, in most ways it's more exiting.

OldNotWIse

PARlance wrote: »

House 24, Engaged 25, Married 27, 1st Kid 29, 2nd Kid 31.

As someone said earlier, it could be someone's dream but it certainly wasn't mine.

It's probably mine

discus

PARlance wrote: »

House 24, Engaged 25, Married 27, 1st Kid 29, 2nd Kid 31.

As someone said earlier, it could be someone's dream but it certainly wasn't mine.

I'm actually jealous!

LDN_Irish

Witchie wrote: »

1. I would never do the big church wedding thing with everyone staring at me and I didn't. Got married on the beach in Barbados with just himself and myself.....

Amazing! I'd have loved to do that. Whereabouts did you do it? I stayed by Rockley beach before I had kids to swallow my previously disposable income! I'd have loved to do a tiny wedding like that but cultural expectations on my wife meant we needed nearly 200 guests there! But sure the same cultural expectations meant her father had to pay for it so it wasn't all bad!