In an online survey conducted in March 2015 on a convenience sample of 146 respondents, citizens returned to childhood—a time when plans are simple and ambitions enormous. Answers to the question “What did you want to be when you grew up?” draw a map of generational dreams: the most frequently mentioned include teacher (9), doctor/physician (multiple entries, overall among the most dominant), actress/actor, pilot, ballerina, veterinarian, singer, but also astronaut, archaeologist, architect, journalist, police officer, and judge. Alongside “serious” professions, the list also contains life statements (“A HUMAN BEING,” “A mom”), as well as an ironic outburst (“A criminal :D”), showing that imagination and reality often ran in parallel.
However, when childhood dreams collide with life, optimism drops sharply. Only 8.22% of respondents say they fulfilled their wish “completely,” and an additional 14.38% “in some other way.” In total, only about a fifth of respondents (22.6%) feel the goal was reached—either directly or through an alternative path. By contrast, almost half (47.95%) openly say: “No.” Another 7.53% believe it will happen “soon,” while 18.49% say they later developed a different wish. The message is clear: childhood in Serbia generates ambition, but adulthood often produces compromise.
The answer to the question of who influenced that wish is also telling: most say—no one. As many as 53.42% report no external influence, while parents still matter: mother (12.33%) and father (8.90%). Under “something else,” modern “educators” of imagination appear: television, books, films, school, and even specific names and symbols of popular culture (e.g., Carl Sagan, “Lepa Brena,” TV series, shows). In other words, the dream is most often born from within, but it is fed by what society presents as desirable, heroic, or “possible.”
The sample is predominantly female (66.44%), with a median age of 33 and an average of around 36. Geographically, the survey is also diverse: Belgrade-centre (20.14%), Bačka (18.75%), Central Serbia (13.19%), Southern Serbia (9.03%), and more. But regardless of address, the results converge on the same conclusion: professional dreams were “big” and often socially beneficial, while the path to achieving them was much narrower.
In essence, this survey is a small sociology of growing up: from idealism to adaptation. And perhaps the most accurate summary lies in a single word from respondents’ answers—“human.” Because between teacher, doctor, and astronaut, many ultimately tried simply to become: people.
Methodological note: the results are indicative of the participating internet audience and are not representative of Serbia.