EF Women’s History Month: Reflections on then and now

If you had a chance to talk to your future self, what would you ask? Maybe you’d want to know if you got that promotion at work, or if you still had the same group of friends. In celebration of EF Education First’s Women’s History Month, we asked team members to consider this question through the lens of having already lived to see the “future” by having a conversation with their younger selves. Through triumphs, failures, and changes, many of the responses reflected on the unexpected paths that life takes us on. Whether or not they ended at the destination they set out for, our team members highlight the importance of admiring the journey that leads you to the person that you become along the way.   

Sally-Anne, United Kingdom 

What did you want to be when you grew up? Where are you now? 

I have always been very creative with a love for making things, and I remember wanting to work for Jim Henson’s creature workshop making puppets. I am instead a Project Manager, which also weirdly enough makes perfect sense as I have always been the ‘organizer’ of the group at work or at home.  

What do you think your childhood self would most admire about you? 

I think my childhood self would look at me and admire my independence and the life I have built. She might be surprised at the domesticity of it — I always imagined I would be more of an adventurer — but I hope she would not be disappointed. I’m certainly not! 

Larissa, United Kingdom 

What did you want to be when you grew up? Where are you now? 

As a kid, I wanted to be a paleontologist or a scientist. Mostly, I wanted to be a singer, and I was determined to do that until some point during my first year of university. So, I switched to major in marketing, which I am working in now. 

What do you think your childhood self would most admire about you? 

I think my childhood self would admire the living abroad I have done in the last quarter of my life. I had to learn how to do adult things like laundry and paying bills while also adjusting to life in a new country with different customs — away from friends and family. 

Alicia, Panama

What did you want to be when you grew up? Where are you now?

I would tell my parents I wanted to be an astronaut my mom would laugh and say, “Si aqui no te encuentro alla menos!” (“If I can’t find you here let alone in space”). I may not be an astronaut, but I have fulfilled the main need of wanting to see the world from a different perspective. My career at EF has taken me to so many places I never could have imagined as a kid.

What do you think your childhood self would most admire about you? 

I think my younger self would be proud to know that even though we were knocked down a couple of times we always came back stronger. We made it to a private university with a full-ride scholarship, we have lived in 7 countries, we work at a multi-national company in Panama, and, more importantly, we are helping to pave the way for other women of color to succeed.

Alexis, United States of America 

What did you want to be when you grew up? Where are you now? 

When I was younger, I wanted to be a pediatrician! I found out science wasn’t my strong suit, but communications is. Now I get to talk to coworkers and travelers every day and lift them up. 

What do you think your childhood self would most admire about you? 

I think my younger self would admire how much more confident and assertive I’ve become — and that I feel respected in my job and day-to-day life. 

Taylor, United States of America 

What did you want to be when you grew up? Where are you now? 

I wanted to be an Interventional Radiologist. Now, I’m focusing more on a happy, healthy, simple life rather than what my occupational title is. 

What do you think your childhood self would most admire about you? 

What I admire about myself now is that I am taking my personal happiness and health into the forefront of my priorities. I can do hard things and recognize my own wants and feelings rather than morphing into what others expect. 

Allie, United States of America 

What did you want to be when you grew up? Where are you now? 

Happy… and happy!  

What do you think your childhood self would most admire about you? 

Younger Allie was quite shy and nervous about being alone. I think she would admire how I’ve made many lovely connections with others and speak in front of groups with less trepidation. Younger Allie is proud of me now! 

Beatriz, Switzerland 

What did you want to be when you grew up? Where are you now? 

From a very young age, I always wanted to be a Fashion Designer. Then, with the help of a counselor, I decided to study Law, and I loved it! Due to the situation in my country of origin, I had to emigrate, and when I arrived in another country — it was very difficult to continue with my career. I started to follow my passion for photography and design, and sometime later I did a master’s in marketing management. There were many changes in my career, but those changes brought me to where I am today. 

What do you think your childhood self would most admire about you? 

I never changed who I was, what I liked, or what I wanted to be just to please other people.