Parents' dreams...

[ellenscult]

My dad called last night, just to see how I'm doing. Among the many topics of conversation were:

• My sister's friend, Chris?, being on BBC2 at 8pm last night - did anyone catch the programme? I missed it completely.


• Dad offered, again, to let me live at home with him and mum during the week, and I could commute to work in Sheffield from the local train station, which is only around 3/4 of a mile away. (I said thank you, and refrained from pointing out we'd probably drive each other crazy inside a week.)
  
• my dad suggested I become a vicar.


Now, this last one is particularly perplexing, as I'm a good couple of years into a course to convert to Judaism. And the rest of my family are all agnostics and aetheists. But my dad has good reasons for this seemingly odd choice of profession. Apparently, my organisational skills (stop laughing! I have *some*... somewhere... if I could only find them...), my 'leadership abilities'(???), the way I like helping people, my sense of morality, etc, mean I'd be great as a vicar. But not as a rabbi, apparently, cos they only deal with the Jewish community, and C of E vicars reach a wider community. (Although I've never met a vicar outside of church hall jumble sales and various weddings, etc, and I know rabbis deal with the Jewish community - and the wider community they're part of. *shrug*) Still, it's made me think a bit. I wouldn't mind being a rabbi, I guess, but when I'm older and have more money / fewer debts.

So my question is - what profession(s) have your parents (or well-meaning other bods) told you you'd be good at? Or what, given other circumstances, would you be right now?

Comments

[medains.livejournal.com]

Which programme? I had bbc2 on whilst tidying last night, so I might have seen her.

Wouldn't you need to grow a beard and buy a big black hat to be a rabbi? :)

I've been repeatedly told that I'd be good at teaching, but I have the problem that I only want to teach students who want to learn (not just those the government may have forced on me)

[ellenscult]

Not sure which programme, just that it was about Chris setting up house with an ex-partner for the sake of the kids? Or something... (Could be a him, not sure!)

*grin* Didja know... the very first female rabbi was ordained on the 3rd of June 1972 - exactly 3 years before I was born. And I have a black hat, ta muchly. Marcus brought it (and a bunch more stuff) round last night. I have a candle chandelier to put up now.

That's always the drawback with teaching. Which is why people go in for FE, HE and private tuition rather than pre-16 education, I guess. I think you'd be quite good at it, too.

[medains.livejournal.com]

I don't recall that programme, so must've been when I was watching 'Where Eagles Dare' (yay for convoluted war movie plots)

And Christians are shocked by female priests, when the jews have been doing it for years ;)

[clotilde.livejournal.com]

My family are convinced that I should write novels (possibly for children). Also motherhood. At school they were quite keen on pushing me into jounalism, I seem to remember.

[ellenscult]

Are you into any of those? Are some of them a 'maybe someday' thing, or an 'eeeuwww!'?

[clotilde.livejournal.com]

The motherhood thing I would definately like. I am going through a ridiculously broody phase at the moment, which I am trying to sublimate into craving a dog, but it isn't helping much. And I would like to write a book someday, but I don't think that I would just like to write books for a living. I think that I would crave contact, and I get writer's block very badly. In fact, if I did write a book, I suspect that it wouldn't be fiction, or not entirely. In fact, I think that the subject of my book would be the same as my next post is going to be about...

[ellenscult]

Having read your post, that'd make a pretty interesting book. Good luck! And with the whole motherhood / broody thing.

[kissmeforlonger.livejournal.com]

When I was about 8 my dad wanted to be a nurse. It was in the context of some sort of spelling test related to people's jobs. So he asked me to spell the job I wanted to have and I went A-R-C-H-A-O-L-O-G-I-S-T.

Horrible child :-) I can't remember my parents ever trying to push me into a specific career (they were both teachers so I never got any silly nonsense about doing things with children) but I got a lot of stick about exam results and getting an education.

[ellenscult]

I know that one! My dad's a lecturer, so I had the same thing. 'Yes, you can learn later in life, but it'll be lots harder. So get your education now.'

[vin_petrol]

I was lucky 'cos in about 1979 I played with a computer and went "hey, I want to be a programmer". By this time, this was seen as a well paid career, so nobody ever tried to talk me out of it. They just patted me on the head and said "good idea."

I'm pretty sure my mother would have liked me to go into acting professionally. I was doing loads of amateur acting then, and people like the drama teacher at school kept prodding me to do it. I suspect a lot of people who want to act have to fight their parents about it. I suspect mine would have just gone "yeah, whatever."

I feel like John Major, who (apocryphally) ran away from the circus to become an accountant.

[ellenscult]

I just watched Spaced (again) - the one where Brian tells his mum he's an artist. All these years he's been pretending to be a lawyer, and his mum says, 'You know, we always hoped you'd be an artist.' Odd how these things happen. You do still act, so that's alright. ;)

Career choices

[wiseoldbob.livejournal.com]

I am adept at predicting what people should really do for a living. All the people who have taken up my advice and gone into the career of my choosing have subsequently contacted me and said how much they just love being a hotelier, journalist, Forestry Commission worker, naval gunner, plumber, overseas aid worker, teacher (really!), lawyer, mad scientist etc, etc, etc. Those who ignore my advice go on to live slightly dull and unproductive lives as a consequence. I think you would make an excellent vicar, but unfortunately I can't think of what "brand" you need to be. Chips and Egg are a bit too bumbly and I don't think "Firebrand Preacher" of the Southern Pentecostal variety would be really you. Rabbi is also not quite right, what with the beard 'n' all, and similarly Imman would be right out. Tibetan Lama is a possibility: coming from Huddersfield you'd be accustomed to the rugged mountainous terrain but commuting to Sheffield from Katmandu would be a bit of a pain.
I did invent a belief system of my own a short while ago but didn't get round to the fine detail of manpower, buildings etc. I'll give it some thought and let you know if your application has been successful.

Re: Career choices

[ellenscult]

Ta muchly, oh guru and architect of my unspecified religion. Does your belief system have big hats for its clerics? *grin*

Parent's Dreams...

[djhamsterboy.livejournal.com]

The only career that I believe my parents had in mind for me was that of an accountant or actuary. I think that says something about my mother and her wishes for perfectly normal sons rather than my dreams of happiness in life. However as I managed to go down the path of accountant for 4 years in doing my chemistry degree, (am not sure why chemists make good accountants but apparently they do), then my mother must have had some control over my dreams.
Only now when I tell her that I want to start my own promotions company and then run a body piercing studio do I find out that she doesn't care what I do as log as it is normal and she can tell the neighbors. As for my father well he never told me what he wanted me to do and for that I shall be eternally grateful, just hope he realises that now.

on another front I hope the judaism course is going ok and you should come round and chat to my house-mate as she is very active in the community even if it means that we have to have three sets of cutlery. anyway miss you,

Re: Parent's Dreams...

[ellenscult]

I can't knock accountants, as my older sister is a very good one. It doesn't have to be so straightlaced as all that - she helps out at her local credit union, does all sorts of charity work, fosters cats for the cats protection league, etc, and is a very funky lady.

Good luck with your plans, though - I really hope you get there with the piercing clinic. (Don't call it 'Ouch!'... ;)

I will have to come round. Atm I'm supposed to be going to the Thursday night hebrew classes in Leeds, but I've been giving Colin piano lessons instead, cos that's a lot less tiring. I take it your housemate is orthodox? You can come visit me any time, you know that.

Lots of love and *big hugs*