Hello, hello! Today we’re talking about childhood dream jobs. Yep, we’re going there! Most kids grow up with these big ideas of things they’ll do when they’re older. I think at some point every girl probably wanted to be a teacher or a fashion designer and every boy wanted to be a firefighter or an astronaut or something like that. I can genuinely say I’ve never really had that and I don’t know if that says more about me as a kid or as an adult (!!!) but I’d never had the biggest, craziest plans. I have to say, I set the bar pretty low. (And that’s probably why at 26 years old, I still have absolute no idea what I actually want to do.) I’m sure there are a bunch of other things I thought “maybe I’d do one day” as a kid, but these are the ones that have always stuck in my head. These are the ones I really had my heart set on. And these are the ones that, deep down inside, my little kid heart still believes might happen somehow, some way.

bookstore employee – I could think of nothing that would make me happier than ringing up stacks and stacks of books and being surrounded by people who loved them just as much as I did. Barnes and Noble, or better yet, Borders, was my favorite place in the world. If we’re being honest, I still want some version of this job. I can maybe dream a little bigger than store employee now, although I’m definitely not above it! But reading books for a living would simply be a dream.

restaurant specials board writer – you know exactly what I’m talking about. This is the person who writes with different colored markers and/or chalk in fancy lettering on the big black specials boards. Whenever I’m eating out somewhere (remember doing that!?) and I see a good one, my desire to write the boards is just totally reaffirmed. And when I see a bad one, the desire to get up and redo the entire thing is so overwhelming that it’s almost embarrassing. A ~career~ for a seven year old!

barista – I honestly can’t explain this one, it’s just something I always thought I would do and I have no idea why. I don’t drink coffee every day and don’t have the patience to be whipping up tons of fancy coffee beverages and concoctions. It’s just something that in the back of my head I had always wished I did in high school. Sadly I think this ship has sailed and this childhood dream will stay exactly that, a childhood dream.

diner waitress – for as long as I can remember, this has been something I wanted to do. I think it started in elementary school when my teacher read our class this book where the main character moved to a new town to take over an old diner. I don’t remember loving the book (definitely making a mental note to re-read it now) but I’m pretty sure it’s where this weird desire came from. And yes, I even dressed up as a diner waitress for Halloween one year… it was that serious. If anyone was wondering, this has now transitioned into my retirement plan. I will 1000% be the 70 year old woman serving pancakes at the diner twice a week – and I can’t wait to do it.

Your turn! I would love to know I’m not alone in this (or maybe I am HA!) Comment below and let me know what your dream job was as a kid or a teenager. Hoping someone might be able to top my burning desire to write the Specials boards…

with love (and 24 hour breakfast), jak