Richard wants to be an astronaut

I grew up in, what I at least consider, the golden age of Nintendo. My cousin gave me his original Nintendo Entertainment System when I was three years old, and I remember the whole occasion vividly. My aunt brought it over to our house on some rainy night, along with a good few dozen of games. My dad couldn't even figure out how to connect it to the television the next day—I remember my uncle came over to help him and it was a big ordeal. Regardless, I spent an extreme amount of time in front of the TV playing that little gray box of a machine. To this day, it still functions, and I ocassionally play it on a day to day basis.
The point is, I was introduced to video games early on in life, and they played an integral role in my childhood. Growing up, I always said I wanted to make Nintendo games for a living. Obviously, this idea, vision, or goal, whatever it is, would evolve and change over time, especially after gaining more knowledge of how the real world works.
Somewhere along the line, I learned how to draw and took a liking to it. I think this combined with my video game obsession and started paving my future. I took art classes through elementary school and kept up with it until eighth grade. My art teacher at the time formed an art club, and long story short, ruined the experience for me entirely. I changed my mind.
One thing that is true is the fact that I have always been an indecisive person. Even when I go shopping, it takes me at least a solid minute to decide whether I want the $1.39 pasta or the $1.62 pasta. I'm also one of the thriftiest people I have ever met, but that is not the point. I gave art a second try towards the latter part of high school. I was going to college—I knew that for a fact. My parents drilled that into my head. But what for? I was good at art, why the hell not? Graphic Design was where it was at.
I had no idea Graphic Design did not exactly constitute character design and animation, which is what I ideally wanted to do. I ended up at Seton Hill because I wanted to stay somewhat local, and I think that was my first mistake. Seton Hill did not have what I wanted—I joined the Graphic Design program and slowly, over time, realized that magazine layouts aren't the same thing as three dimensional video game and movie characters. No big deal, I still slightly enjoyed what I was working on. Good financial aid trapped me into staying at this school.
Now during all of this, my love of music and playing music was growing immensely. I started playing guitar in ninth grade and kept at it ever since. I have been in and out of numerous bands, and now have a good grasp on five different instruments. This was all on my own, no pressure from any outside sources. Music has always been a fierce competitor with my schooling, and I do have my regrets in not going to school for some sort of music career. What this all comes down to is the obvious “what do I want to be in my future?” What do I want to be when I grow up?
What do I want to be when I grow up? What don't I want to be? I do not want to sit in some white collar office with over-cranked air conditioning for some company with no emotional or creative drive. I do not want to crunch numbers. I do not want to be a part of a business where their only need for you is to help spread the master plan of the whole scheme and make the higher-up executives their “hard-earned” dollars. What do I want to be when I grow up? I want to be an astronaut. I want to magically acquire the skills and physique to be able to be catapulted up into space, walk around on the moon, and make it back to this planet in one piece. I want to magically acquire the skills to throw together million-seller video games.
Unfortunately, though, this whole future thing really isn't too far away. It basically starts in about a year and a half. That is entirely too soon. Now is when I have to start thinking realistically. I have to be rational. Logic is key. I want to “be” me. When I graduate from this school, I do not want to jump headfirst into a career as I jumped headfirst into school and I regretted it. I want to take time and do what I enjoy doing. I want to play music. Sure, I want to try and find my way into a career, but I do not want to be tied down and restricted by a job that I will be working for the rest of my life.