Childhood Dreams

Bloganuary daily prompt #21 : What was your dream job as a child?

From the time I can remember I have always loved animals. Rescuing a stray cat from the county garbage dump was the beginning of my wanting to help animals. I watched animals enjoy their beauty and how they behaved. My passion is horses. I read every book in the library of the elementary school I attended. At a young age I was determined to learn how to take care of and doctor sick or injured animals. I wanted to be an animal doctor – this was before I knew an animal doctor was called a veterinarian.

As I went through school, I loved science and learning came easy. In high school I was put into a program of study for those planning on continuing their education at a university. I took every science class offered at my high school, I was going to be a veterinarian.

The high school counselor worked with me to get admitted to the nearby university for a pre-vet program, and a full scholarship. I would have to earn money to provide food and housing, but the tuition and books was paid for four years.

My senior year in high school, I also had my first love and we married after I graduated. He promised I would be able to go to college. I married for love, he married for my dad’s money. When he learned that my dad would not help us financially, he said I could not go to school. After two years of marriage, the relationship ended. I had a six month baby when the marriage dissolved. No scholarship and a child to care for my dream of becoming a veterinarian became a memory.

I continued to study on how to care for animals. Before the internet, I bought many books on the care of horses when I was raising horses. I have books on how to care for dogs. Today, I buy a few books on the care of sheep. But most of my reading is on the internet on how to doctor a sick sheep or better manage my sheep and their health. The only time I call a veterinarian is when the situation is really serious or I need the medicines that only a licensed veterinarian can have.

Choices in life do affect our dreams. The love of animals has always drawn me towards them, and the drive to care for them to the best of my ability. I may not be a veterinarian, but I do doctor animals.

Granny