What did you want to be when you were a kid?

Inspired by post of collegue Steemer @schkure I have decided to write something about the same subject from my perspective :)

What did you want to be when you were a kid?

I wanted to be a veterinarian.

My parents are born and raised in villages but have lived (almost) whole my life in the city of Šibenik. They know very well how hard is to live without electricity, how to pour water from the well or walk 3 km to get some water from the nearest river and how to take care of the animals, who were the main source of their food.

My father, our sheep and me

I am the oldest child in my family. Two younger brothers and me as a big sister. As far as I remember I always had that special kind of love for animals and my brothers looked up to me.

The earliest memory (and few others) that I have is me eating dog food. Yeeeah I know. Smart kid, right? :D

When I was in the first grade we had to move to my father's village called Kaočine. It's 30 minutes away from Šibenik city by car. We have lived there for about a year or so and I guess my love for animals grew during that period of time. I remember me being so free and careless running and playing around. Animals were always there to calm me down. I could sit or look at them for hours or just talking :)

That was the time I have decided to be a veterinarian.

Our cow, her baby and me.

Village life. My friends and I playing "laštik".

It wasn't always fun and games. Animals that we fed like pigs, chickens and male calfs were put down and used for meat. I hated that but it was the only way to survive in the dark periods.

But STILL! But still I wanted to help animals, to take care of them, just to be there.

My very first pet Lily and me.

Why I am not a veterinarian today?

I remember my father saying to me:
"If you want to be a veterinarian you have to know that you'll need to know how to put your WHOLE arm inside the cow to help her out to deliver her baby. It's not so easy. Some animals would die anyways."

I couldn't deal with that.

So here is me today, every time I see a random animal.

Oh, and yes. Cats are pretty awesome :)

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Love, S.

(all photographs are mine)