Editor’s Desk: Why do so many of us let go of our childhood dreams?

One of the many inspiring women we featured in this newspaper for International Women’s Day earlier this month was someone I had never heard of before. Someone told me a bit about her story and I was instantly intrigued and impressed. I was put in touch with her, but I didn’t even get the chance to speak to her. All our communication was done via text message and email because she was over in America for work and I had a short deadline to work to. But she left her mark on me for two reasons — her downright cool job and the fact she’s living out her childhood dream. Her name is Angela Teale and her field of expertise is astrodynamics. After working for the US Air Force, she landed her “dream job” working for a US company called Slingshot Aerospace — while based in Geraldton (she’s American, but moved to the Mid West for love after meeting her now-husband). In her job, she works on space projects like developing a world-first app which live-tracks satellites to ensure they don’t collide with each other. Ms Teale says her love of rockets and space started early on. “I grew up in a small country town in Iowa. From the age of eight, I was fascinated with rockets. I’d turn any cylinder I could get my hands on into one. This culminated with launching a six-foot carpet tube, with homemade engines and parachute, thousands of feet into the air. I cringe thinking about the laws that would break today,” she recalled. Ms Teale’s career trajectory got me thinking — how many of us actually live out our childhood dream jobs? And if we pursued our childhood ambitions and tried to turn them into reality, would it mean we’d have a lot more happier adults walking around in society? In my case, the first thing I ever wanted to be was a vet. I was about six or seven, and the thought of spending all my days with cute and cuddly animals had me sold. But as soon as a cousin told me a lot of the icky and depressing things associated with that career, I went off the idea quick smart, realising I didn’t have the stomach for it. It wasn’t until Year 10 that I had an epiphany that I wanted to be a journalist. And more than two decades later, it’s the only job I’ve ever had (besides the part-time gigs at the old Fossey’s store during high school in Geraldton and the Perth video store during uni). No job is perfect, but I’m lucky that after all this time journalism is still one of my biggest passions. But let’s face it. Many of us settle when it comes to a job. We think this will do, or I’ll only aim this high. But why don’t we tap into our inner childhood ambitions more? Kids know what they want and they know what they like. So surely it makes sense that something that interests you enough as a child would still be fascinating to you as an adult. But kids dream big, so perhaps many of us believe those dreams are out of reach and settle for another plan that simply pays the bills. If it’s mildly interesting, then bonus! According to a 2019 survey of 2000 Americans by TollFreeForwarding, more than three quarters never achieved their coveted childhood job. And almost 40 per cent of those regret not chasing that dream. The top five most popular childhood dream jobs were listed as teacher, doctor/nurse, vet, musician and actor. Sure, the odds of becoming an internationally famous actor might be a bit higher than a teacher, but none of those options are completely out of reach with the right talent and ambition. If Ms Teale’s story is any example, then little girls growing up today should have no trouble believing they can be anything they want to be when they grow up. I guess unless it’s a unicorn or a Transformer or an alien. And as men and women whose childhoods are distant memories, I think it wouldn’t hurt us one bit every once in a while to listen to that little voice inside of us all, of the little boy and girl that remains.