4 ms·

Coming from a generation where lots of people thought professional athlete, rock star, or best-selling author were viable career paths, I will abstain from mock

Coming from a generation where lots of people thought professional athlete, rock star, or best-selling author were viable career paths, I will abstain from mocking the younger kids and their unrealistic expectations.

kurupt213 4y ago
Which one did you want to be? I wanted to be a fighter pilot.
- amitport 4y ago
  Fighter pilot is not such a bad aspiration. Even in the likely event that you fail, you may have worked through a path towards being commercial pilot / air control / engineering... That's not so bad
  - kurupt213 4y ago
    There are probably more professional athletes at any given time than fighter pilots
    - kevinventullo 4y ago
      Sure, but the point is that trying and failing to become a fighter pilot leaves one in a much better position than trying and failing to be a professional athlete.
  - amelius 4y ago
    > Fighter pilot is not such a bad aspiration. It's not all roses: From https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2780168/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2780168/ > Hemorrhoids are a common source of complaint among fighter pilots, who are subjected to G forces. Colorectal disease continues to this day to be a very common and often debilitating complaint, and colorectal surgery clinics in the military generally are well frequented by patients.
    - selimthegrim 4y ago
      Also ejection seats are rough on you.
- usrusr 4y ago
  Rock star, even had the hair to prove it. But I never reached tolerable on the guitar. Which leads is to one thing that seems to be different for the current generation's pipe dream: lack of clear requirements. Sure, they'd better have some form of appearing charismatic on screen, but that's much less clearly cut out as "good radio voice" or "hot enough for MTV cameras" (or athleticism, or some music skill). Particularly because there are plenty of examples of influencer brands built on "on camera despite". Which might vet well be helped by the platforms, boosting I'm their algorithms a few random "you could be them!" to platform-stardom to foster The Dream in more consumers.
  - Bakary 4y ago
    The more specific requirement other than looks is a personality type that is ebullient and resistant to stress from risk-taking. I don't think it's a coincidence that modern-day rappers have many face tattoos and extravagant styles: popular artists are selected in part for their ability to be consistently larger than life characters.
kjkjadksj 4y ago
Who thought being a pro athlete was going to work out? Everyone I knew who worked had in sports just used athletics as a vehicle for free college and it worked great for that
- slothtrop 4y ago
  Depends on the sport/path. Where I'm from it's more common to join a provincial sports league than NCAA. They earn a small wage, but often get stiffed on education. With the bonus of sometimes having sustained injuries that stay with them the rest of their lives. I know of a guy who had one too many concussions and found it difficult to concentrate once he left the league - then had to fight the association for funds he was promised. What does that leave a person?
- joegahona 4y ago
  https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/news/african-american-youth-more-often-play-sports-to-chase-college-pro-dreams https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/news/african-american-youth... > And once [African-Americans] do [join organized sports as children], their parents’ motivation to keep them in the game is significantly more driven by the possibility of playing beyond high school. Parents of African-American youth rated the pursuit of a college scholarship as 23% more important and a pro sports opportunity as 26% more important than White parents, according to the survey.

kurupt213 4y ago

Which one did you want to be? I wanted to be a fighter pilot.

amitport 4y ago
Fighter pilot is not such a bad aspiration. Even in the likely event that you fail, you may have worked through a path towards being commercial pilot / air control / engineering... That's not so bad
- kurupt213 4y ago
  There are probably more professional athletes at any given time than fighter pilots
  - kevinventullo 4y ago
    Sure, but the point is that trying and failing to become a fighter pilot leaves one in a much better position than trying and failing to be a professional athlete.
- amelius 4y ago
  > Fighter pilot is not such a bad aspiration. It's not all roses: From https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2780168/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2780168/ > Hemorrhoids are a common source of complaint among fighter pilots, who are subjected to G forces. Colorectal disease continues to this day to be a very common and often debilitating complaint, and colorectal surgery clinics in the military generally are well frequented by patients.
  - selimthegrim 4y ago
    Also ejection seats are rough on you.
usrusr 4y ago
Rock star, even had the hair to prove it. But I never reached tolerable on the guitar. Which leads is to one thing that seems to be different for the current generation's pipe dream: lack of clear requirements. Sure, they'd better have some form of appearing charismatic on screen, but that's much less clearly cut out as "good radio voice" or "hot enough for MTV cameras" (or athleticism, or some music skill). Particularly because there are plenty of examples of influencer brands built on "on camera despite". Which might vet well be helped by the platforms, boosting I'm their algorithms a few random "you could be them!" to platform-stardom to foster The Dream in more consumers.
- Bakary 4y ago
  The more specific requirement other than looks is a personality type that is ebullient and resistant to stress from risk-taking. I don't think it's a coincidence that modern-day rappers have many face tattoos and extravagant styles: popular artists are selected in part for their ability to be consistently larger than life characters.

kjkjadksj 4y ago

Who thought being a pro athlete was going to work out? Everyone I knew who worked had in sports just used athletics as a vehicle for free college and it worked great for that

slothtrop 4y ago
Depends on the sport/path. Where I'm from it's more common to join a provincial sports league than NCAA. They earn a small wage, but often get stiffed on education. With the bonus of sometimes having sustained injuries that stay with them the rest of their lives. I know of a guy who had one too many concussions and found it difficult to concentrate once he left the league - then had to fight the association for funds he was promised. What does that leave a person?
joegahona 4y ago
https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/news/african-american-youth-more-often-play-sports-to-chase-college-pro-dreams https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/news/african-american-youth... > And once [African-Americans] do [join organized sports as children], their parents’ motivation to keep them in the game is significantly more driven by the possibility of playing beyond high school. Parents of African-American youth rated the pursuit of a college scholarship as 23% more important and a pro sports opportunity as 26% more important than White parents, according to the survey.