When I grow up . . .

How many times did we all have to complete that phrase before high school graduation? It seems like it all started in Kindergarten, at least that's the first time that I could remember it. Over the years, the answers changed and I ended up where I am today. Even though I'm 30, at what age are you considered grown up?

Today's list is pretty straightforward . . . 5 jobs I wanted to have when I grew up.

1) TV Weather Man -- I don't know why, but this always fascinated me. The weather was interesting and at an early age, being on TV was the only thing that I thought I could do weather related. Once I learned what shyness was and how bad I had it at an early age, the thought of getting in front of a camera and talking terrified me. I don't know when I lost the desire to do this, but the interest in weather hasn't gone away.

2) Advertising -- I don't have a clue why I ever thought I wanted to do this, maybe it was my obsession with funny commercials. Maybe it was all the Full House episodes I watched growing up, the jingles that Jessie and Joey came up with (for fake products) were funny. To this day I'm the one at Super Bowl parties asking people to be quiet when the commercials start.

3) Meteorologist -- Note, this is not the same as a TV weather man. Back in 9th grade, I won a weather/meteorology event at a state science contest (nerd alert). To get ready for the event, our school sponsor for the group took a couple of us to the local National Weather Service Bureau in Nashville and they taught us all the basics. For a couple of years, I wanted to be one of those guys; it seemed like a really great job. It was all science and math related, and let's face it, those were my best subjects.

4) Robotics Engineer -- A trip to a science lab back in high school got me interested in this (another nerd alert). After talking to several teachers and guidance counselors in addition to taking aptitude tests, it seemed like Engineering was the right path for me. I was good at math and have always enjoyed taking things apart, putting them back together and building things. I even went to college and got the ole' Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering. If you ever want to see it, it's framed at my apartment; that's all I've done with it since 2002.

Of course I fell into Student Affairs and love what I do; it's all because I was an involved undergrad and had great mentors. Most of you are thinking, wait that's only 4 things. I posed the question earlier about when do we really grow up. If I'm not done growing up and had to change career paths again, it would be to become a . . . .

5) Major League Baseball General Manager -- This will never happen, but I've been a fan of the game as long as I can remember. The only thing holding me back would be the lack of a love for statistics, too much this job is to analyze past player's performances and project futures. The transaction side of the sport - drafts, trades, and free agent signings - is the part that I find the most fascinating. Working with inflated egos isn't appealing either, but putting together my own team sounds like way too much fun. Playing Fantasy Baseball will have to fill this void for now.