JA
A botanist or a florist.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 19 October 2019 source ↗
The question
As a child, what career or life did you imagine for yourself?Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
This is a standing question in The Guardian's decades-long The Q&A and also recurs independently in career and life interviews.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Others on this question
View all 197 →
Salman Rushdie
Indian-British-American novelist
A writer, I’m sorry to say. Boring, I know, but true.
Rosanna Arquette
American actress
A ballet dancer, and for a while I wanted to teach children with Down’s syndrome.
Shaun Ryder
English singer
In 1975, I watched the film Stardust, and Adam Faith said, “I supply the birds, the pills and the pot.” And I thought, “I want that.”
Tracy-Ann Oberman
Actor and writer
An actress. My family thought it was ridiculous, it was like saying you wanted to be an astronaut.
More from Julie Andrews
View profile →Something triumphant, I couldn’t tell you what but something vibrant and joyous.
I interrupt too much.
In London. When Blake [Edwards, her husband since 1969] made me laugh so much I wept. Blake says I slept with a smile.
I think I over-apologise as it is.
I saw a very expensive painting by a wonderful American painter called Charles Burchfield. I really loved it – it hit me in the solar plexus – and I thought if I did three extra concerts on tour, I might be able to afford it. And I did.
As you go through life, you discover so many forms of love – passionate, compassionate, familial, friendship. Love is hard to describe but it’s wonderful.
More on identity & self
- What do you fear most? 256 answers
- Which trait in yourself do you like least? 239 answers
- What most recently moved you to tears? 192 answers
- What does happiness look like for you when life is going well? 158 answers
- How would you sum yourself up in three words? 114 answers
- What fills you with the most pride? 103 answers
Also answered this
David Harewood, Joanna Scanlan, Mathew Horne, John Malkovich, Martin Sheen, Ralph Ineson
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All identity & self questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject