When I was 11, all I knew is that I loved the Earth and all of its creatures. At such a young age I had no idea what my options were to work with animals or to help the Earth. My first word (so I've been told) was "woof!" because I would have always much rather have had conversations with my dog than any human.
When I initially read this prompt, I immediately put it into the context of a career. After writing the journal entry and reading it again it occurred to me that I had NO IDEA about any career path for myself when I was 11. What did I really want to do?
I wanted to lay in the grass and watch the clouds pass by, guessing the shapes that I thought they made. I wanted to go swimming in the neighbor's pool because I thought it was somehow better than my own. I wanted nothing more than to be able to ride my bike, even though I just didn't have the natural instincts for it (I didn't ever learn to ride until I was 13). When I was 11, I looked at the older kids who could drive and go to the movies without their parents and wanted to be them more than anything. Then, when I became that age, I wanted to be 11 again. At the age of 11 ALL I wanted to know was how in the world salt water taffy was made because I never saw anyone at the beach making it, so it just did not make sense to me! I also truly believed that my pets could talk, they just wouldn't talk to me for some reason. So, I spent my days just waiting for the exciting moment when I would say "who's a good boy?" and my dog, in a moment of weakness, would reply, "me!" I wanted to be able to do a backflip on my trampoline when I was 11, but my fear only ever allowed me to do a front flip. If we're being extremely honest here, I wanted boobs when I was 11. I didn't have the life experience to understand how much I wouldn't want them later. Truthfully, I wanted a lot of the things that are common for me now 11 years ago. And 11 years later, I want to go back.
Although all of these things seem a bit foolish now, that's what I truly wanted when I was 11. I could write about wanting to be a marine biologist, or a vet; but, the truth is, I didn't actually want any of those things. Those were simply things that I felt I was supposed to want because I needed something to say when grown ups asked "what do you want to be when you grow up?" A question that, at 22 years old, I still don't have the answer to.