I find it a little bit cruel that we ask children what they want to be when they grow up. Maybe it’s my pessimism, but asking a kid what they would most like to do only for them to have the facts of the world slap them in the face down the line, messed me up a bit 🙂 . However, I may be an outlier.
That question posed during my childhood made me think that I could actually do whatever I wanted and pursue my passions, but that often does not translate to putting food on the table. When I was growing up, the careers I wanted rotated between:
- Restaurant reviewer
- Film reviewer
- Travel reviewer
- Marine Biologist
I’m sensing a pattern here (outside of marine biology 😉 )…As I’ve mentioned previously, I love reviewing things and curating experiences. It brings me immense joy and helps me clarify my thoughts and share them with others so that they can avoid my mistakes and get the most bang for their buck.
And I love doing that because I use all of the above kinds of reviews to decide what to eat, watch and see in my own life. I also find it so helpful when I stumble across someone else who has experienced something I want to do and they provide tips that make my experience smoother. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship through exchanging tips 🙂 .
So for a short time, I planned to pursue those passions as my actual job and while many people seem to be able to do so with success, it’s definitely a challenging road. Becoming a reviewer through traditional or less traditional (aka the internet) means, has no guarantees. It can also unfortunately lead to something you love being twisted into something you dislike or even hate because it becomes “work.” I can imagine that the fun gets sucked out of most things when you introduce deadlines and profits into the mix.
An Underwater Tangent
As for the outlier, Marine Biology, I quickly realized when actually looking into the programs I would need to take, that my idea of what a marine biologist does was way off 🙂 . It turns out that I love white sand beaches, turquoise blue water and snorkeling with tropical fish, but that is very little if at all what you do as a marine biologist.
I looked into one well renowned program where you live on a boat for 3 months and get hands-on experience, such as in the Northeast USA during the fall when it’s cold and wet and you’re living in dark, murky water. Luckily I came to my senses and realized the reality of that profession before it was too late 🙂 .
I still love aquariums and tropical vacations, so I can see all the wild fish and I’m soon going to the Great Barrier Reef for the first time, which I’m wildly excited about. But I’m keeping my love of those things far away from a professional setting.
A Mad Woman
For my career, I chose a slightly different path: Marketing. It was something I did find interesting, but not overly so. In the end, it paid the bills, helped me earn enough to retire at 30, and on the job, I acquired skills that helped me in other parts of life, such as this blog. Not bad 🙂 .
Throughout my career, I always liked to curate the ways I explore the world, but a lot of the time, those wishes would be cast aside for the necessities of rest or stress relief as a result of giving everything to my job. I used to make lists of movies, books and restaurants I had experienced with small ratings or reviews. I would post on my personal social media about something I loved. However, these reviews were sporadic, short and (in my current opinion) not very helpful for others. And I didn’t have the mental bandwidth to change that. For example, years ago my cousin and I even started a tumblr blog to review the gluten free restaurants in NYC and to this day it has a grand total of…one post 🙂 .
I always wanted to be a curation wizard, but didn’t have the mental capacity or down time to do so. But now I have that time! And I was curious if I just thought that work was holding me back and would only discover that it was actually me holding me back 🙂 , but that hasn’t been the case.
A Curator’s Retirement
In retirement, I have been able to catalog my travels and everything I’ve experienced. Now that I have a blog where I’ve declared that I’ll write about whatever strikes my fancy, those explorations have a home 🙂 . I have a place where I can post pictures, write reviews and provide tips to help others in their travel journeys as well, and it’s more rewarding than I could have imagined. I now give all the infinite mistakes I make in life while traveling the world a purpose: helping other people avoid my embarrassment and be prepared for similar situations 🙂 .
I also am able to provide the kind of detailed, play-by-play information I’m always looking for before going into a situation, but rarely find. I’m also able to shout about a fantastic film I saw that many people might overlook.
I can give props to an awesome employee or restaurant that went above and beyond.
And I can do all this without any kind of monetary or outside pressure. It’s blissful 🙂 .
Conclusion
So that’s how retirement has surprisingly allowed me to live out all of my childhood dreams. This wasn’t a goal of mine, but it happened and I’m excited to keep curating my life and using that to help y’all in your journeys if I can. Retirement helped me find a new purpose 🙂 .
What did you want to be when you grew up?
If you’re curious about the kind of curation posts I do on here, here’s a sampling:
Medical Tourism Reviews
- Medical Tourism: A $22 Dental Exam & Cleaning in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Medical Tourism: Visiting a Doctor for $2.50 & Filling A $1 Prescription in Mérida, México
- Medical Tourism: A $32 Dental Cleaning in Mérida, México
Flight Reviews
- Review: The World’s Longest Flight – 19 Hours In Singapore Air Business Class
- Review: Singapore Air 737 MAX Business Class AKA “The Throne”
- Review: 21 Hours In Etihad Business Class (Part 1) – Phuket To Abu Dhabi On A 787 Dreamliner
- Review: 21 Hours In Etihad Business Class (Part 2) – Abu Dhabi To NYC On A 787 Dreamliner
- Review: American Airlines Business Class 777-200 – NYC to Buenos Aires
- Review: American Airlines Business Class 777-200 – Buenos Aires to NYC
Travel Tips
- How To Get A Thai Visa & The Thailand Pass Entry Process In The Age Of Covid
- A Day At A Spa In Thailand: Wyndham Grand Phuket Zana Spa Review
Slow Travel Reviews
- Slow Travel Review: Portland, Maine, USA – The Land Of Deliciousness
- Slow Travel Review: Catskill, New York, USA – The Land Of Mountains
- Slow Travel Review: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA – The Land Of Chili Peppers
- Slow Travel Review: Decatur, Georgia, USA – The Land Of Flowers And Food
- Slow Travel Review: Phuket, Thailand – The Land Of Sea & Food
- Slow Travel Review: Mérida, México – The Land Of Color & Nature
- Slow Travel Review: Seattle, WA, USA – The Land Of Flowers, Sea And Mountains
- Slow Travel Review: Buenos Aires, Argentina – The Land Of Nature and Architecture
All the usual hero type figures, but by the time I was a high school kid I knew I wanted to be a chemical engineer and never wavered from that. Work was a lot of fun and rapidly became one of my favorite hobbies. But, to tell the truth, retirement is even better!
That’s awesome! My Mom was a chemical engineer as well (after studying to be one) and then switched careers after a few years in the business. I’m glad you enjoy the work.
I’ve never heard of curation and reviewing being a childhood dream, that’s fascinating to me! The best thing is that you can now give your time and energy to it without worrying about the money. That’s awesome!
My dream was to write books, but I distinctly remember not feeling able to say that because it didn’t make money and therefore it wasn’t possible. There’s a lot to unpack there, but the short of it is: f*** it, I’m doing it anyway. I write books. I don’t earn much money from it; my day job is what pays my bills and is propelling me to FIRE. Unfortunately childhood me was right, writing isn’t a well-paid profession unless you get lucky. I don’t want to worry about getting lucky so that I can pay my bills, I just want to create.
Like you reference in your post, some of the joy is definitely sucked out of the thing you love if you have to produce it for the money. FIRE is great because it takes money out of the equation, so you can focus on the thing you love for the joy of it.
Haha really?! Maybe it’s because I wanted the life, but I read about so many famous movie or food reviewers who said that’s what they always wanted to do even as a child. Also I love the “fuck it – I’m doing it anyway” attitude – YES!!! That’s awesome that you just want to create and are focusing on that.
I just read a great sci-fi novella by Issac Asimov called Profession about society putting people into a professional box. The complete text is here:
https://www.inf.ufpr.br/renato/profession.html
Very interesting! Thank you – I’ve added that to my reading list.
lol when I was grade school age I wanted to be a fashion designer or a “buyer” to decide what clothes went into stores. I remember loving to draw outfits in my notebook. As an adult I hate shopping and think that’d be about the worst industry for me to work in.
In high school I was good at math so chose Industrial Engineering as a practical, lucrative profession. Turns out I just hate any job where I’m required to sit in front of a computer and not directly help people. Now I’m a Realtor and love it, but that only works because we don’t need to rely on my income!
Oh wow – that was a rollercoaster 🙂 , but I’m so happy you found something you love doing!!
Fascinating! I wanted to be a doctor. Wasn’t to be though – and thankful for that as I don’t think I would enjoy the headache of dealing with the US health system on a routine basis.
Yeah that seems like a super hard spot to be in unfortunately.
Also a marine biologist, and also had the same realization, haha! And then, an author, but that’s always been a back-of-mind goal more than a career aspiration, for the same reason you don’t review for a job.
I love how this blog basically reviews retired life! So helpful and SUPER interesting.
Haha that’s amazing 🙂 . And YEAH you’re so right – I’m a Retirement Reviewer – NEW TITLE ACQUIRED!!! I’m so happy to know that you find it helpful and interesting. Thank you.
Your Retirement Reviews© are the best!
Haha I’ll keep them coming!