“Broken Dreams”: 20 People Who Regretted Following Their Passions

Join the military. 1/10 would not recommend it. The only good that came out of it was being able to say I traveled and lived in a foreign country and I could have done that on my own. Its the most toxic workplace on Earth and for women, it's a real s**t show of sexual predators, misogyny and abuse by ignorant, immature young men who have -0- respect for women as a whole who are given far too much responsibility and power long before they have the brains or wisdom to use it.

Being an EMT

I had planned on it being my lifelong career since middle school. I loved the medical field and wanted to save lives but knew I wouldn’t have the stamina to get through medical school.

I got into training as soon as I graduated high school and I was top of my class in the educational sense, but as soon as I started doing ride-alongs everything just kind of fell apart on me.

I didn’t fit in well with the firefighters, which sounds stupid but I think I really needed that brotherhood if I was going to survive in that field. The real problem, however, was my empathy. I knew quickly that I would not be able to see people on their worst days everyday. I could deal with broken bones and blood, but I hadn’t prepared myself for the screams.

On my third ride-along I responded to a teenage su**ide, and that was it for me. I work for a museum now lol.

Being the boss of people. Boss is a title, but being an effective leader of people is an emotionally draining, often thankless roller coaster.

Growing up.

When I was young my dream was to be a fashion model and at seventeen after my parents approval I did it from the ages of 17-23. It was not what I had dreamt of, it was worse. I literally starved myself to look a certain way, only did cardio and light weights in the gym and was constantly critiqued on my body, looks, skin, hair. I took a semester off of university to recover after developing severe anxiety and depression.

I once had a chat with an Uber driver in LA about her dream and how it didn’t turn out as she expected.

Born and raised in Moldova, she grew up dreaming of being a politician so she could one day make a positive impact on her country. She studied hard and made it into a nice university, but once the first set of finals came, the teacher faced the class and said, “To those who studied, good job. To those who didn’t, a C is $300, a B is $400, and an A in the class is $500.”

At that point she realized her country was corrupt beyond what she could ever hope to fix in her lifetime and immediately dropped out.

A few years later she won a lottery to obtain a visa to move to the US. She took her mom and brother, who is now able to follow his own dream of producing Maldovan music at a professional level and is becoming increasingly popular in their homeland and surrounding countries.

Having a child.

Med school. I was sooo excited to observe a surgery. I fainted...

Traveling for work. You spend a lot of time in hotels and rarely get the opportunity to see anything besides that due to flight schedules. And being hungover on an airplane is an awful experience.

I changed my name. When the name change was accepted and I received the letter with my new name on it I freaked out and changed it back the same day.

All my life I wanted to make cartoons.

I fought with tooth and nail to reach the top.

Then I interned for an old studio in Burbank specializing in cartoons about a *certain yellow family.*

Then, after college, I became a mechanic and never looked back.

Not me, but my first girlfriend when i was 18. She had always wanted to be an eye doctor. Had been her dream for years. Graduated undergrad, got accepted to Optometry school. Graduated with great grades. Got a job ... and within a year or so realized she didn't want to spend the rest of her life asking " which is better, #1 or #2." Went back to school and became a nurse for traumatic brain injuries. She's much happier now. Still does optometry on the side for extra money.

Being a cop. I quit after 6 months.

Typical story if a kid growing up in a sh*thole that had a cop “big brother”. He made me feel better about myself and gave me courage/confidence etc so I always grew up wanting to make the world a better place and help out the kids growing up like I did. When I got in I realized that my department cared more about the letter of the law and less about the spirit of the law. When I would take an opportunity to teach someone why they were doing bad instead of punishing them, I got punished. I put too many people in cuffs that had called me for help (sending the image of if you call for help your going to jail) than I care to admit and I just couldn’t do it anymore. I’m sure there are better departments out there but this killed it for me.

Having endless time to read, watch tv, do hobbies.

I had four foot/ankle surgeries in as many years, that required months each of recuperation in a recliner with my foot elevated. Not painful, but SO BORING. There really is only so much tv you can watch, books you can read, hobbies you can practice, etc. I got to the point that I was sleeping endlessly and pointlessly.

I grew up with my dream career path being to become a police officer, and eventually a detective hopefully. This lasted up into college when I started the process of doing ride alongs and what not. Thats when I learned 95% of the job is ruining people's lives instead of helping or saving anyone. Now I do tech support and life is misery but at least I actually help people now and then.

Visiting Vegas. I loved the idea of a city based on games. Turns out, I like fair games.

Personal training/strength coaching. I told myself I was going to find, support, and coach the next Arnold for years, but I was just stuck with a geriatric population and people who constantly thought my degree in exercise science was a google search or the right Instagram post away. A THIGH GAP IS NOT A FITNESS GOAL. GO TO THERAPY.

Being a Chef, I left highschool in year 10 too get a cert ||| in commerical cookery as I loved cooking and making dishes at home. Loved it for the first few months than realised how draining it is. I do split shifts 9:00am-2:30pm than 5:00pm-9 sometimes 9:30pm. Its Exhausting after doing it for 4 years. You loose your appetite completely. I recently had a knee injury and have been off for a few weeks its really made my anxiety and depression calm down after not being torn too bits by chefs who have had 20+ years of experience and 'know' everything. Its making me realise Ive chosen the wrong career choice.

I couldn't wait to "pull g's" in an airplane. Then I did. It sucked.

Being a youtuber. Terrible life.