When I was a very young child, the first thing that I wanted to become when I grew up was a scientist. In my mind, scientists were those people in white lab coats that would hold a test tube, shake it a little and look at it for a long time. Back then, that seemed really cool.
Plastic, disposable test tubes, nothing like those nostalgic ones in my memory.
Then I grew up a little, and I thought I wanted to become a writer. I remember very clearly the compliments I got from my grade 5 teacher, on a short story that I wrote about a lost painting, and that became my greatest motivation. Also, my mom has been encouraging me to write since I was 7 years old. Up till today, I am still writing, and writing more…
I must physically write. That’s why I will always keep a paper journal with me wherever I go.
Then I grew up a little more, and I started to be interested in anything that had to do with computers. Programming, coding, photo editing. I thought, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to pursue a career related to computers, like making software or designing web sites or something.
Staring at the screen all day hurts my eyes, but hey, at least I’m staring at pretty, colourful pictures of cells.
Now, I am dealing with computers (having a headache over the pile of software needed to do research), I am a writer (writing papers, thesis, blogs, and of course continuing the 14th year in my journal), and a scientist, more than anything (not much more could be said about that).
I guess in the end, I achieved everything I wanted to do as a child. I never planned it to work out this way – things just happen by themselves and voilà, I’m here doing what I’m doing. Then remembering those childhood “aspirations” makes me go…wow, how did life turn out to be this way? It’s unbelievable.
La vie est tellement belle, n’est-ce pas?
Annie Bananie en Europe 