Arlo Parks: What did you want to be when you were growing up? — FLAPSS

The question

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

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.

Arlo Parks

Singer-songwriter and poet; Mercury Prize winner

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

I want to be a voice for the kid. I mean, it sounds quite contrived, but I want to make music that I would have wanted to hear when I was 14.

The Talks, The Talks, 18 September 2021 source ↗

Others on this question

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A comedian or the guy who drives the little truck around airports that takes old ladies to their gate.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 31 January 2026 source ↗

Salman Rushdie Indian-British-American novelist

A writer, I’m sorry to say. Boring, I know, but true.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 18 July 2020 source ↗

Isabelle Huppert French actress

I dreamed of being an artistic skater. And a nursery nurse.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 26 May 2018 source ↗

Adwoa Aboah British fashion model

I wanted to be a cooker. Not a cook: I wanted to actually be the stove.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 March 2019 source ↗

More from Arlo Parks

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Question What important truth do very few people agree with you on? Values & belief

I want to be a voice for the kid. I mean, it sounds quite contrived, but I want to make music that I would have wanted to hear when I was 14.

Recorded The Talks, The Talks, 18 September 2021 source ↗

Question What is the worst job you have done? Craft & work

I want to be a voice for the kid. I mean, it sounds quite contrived, but I want to make music that I would have wanted to hear when I was 14.

Recorded The Talks, The Talks, 18 September 2021 source ↗

Question What does love feel like? Relationships

I want to be a voice for the kid. I mean, it sounds quite contrived, but I want to make music that I would have wanted to hear when I was 14.

Recorded The Talks, The Talks, 18 September 2021 source ↗

Question Which trait do you most dislike in yourself? Identity & self

I want to be a voice for the kid. I mean, it sounds quite contrived, but I want to make music that I would have wanted to hear when I was 14.

Recorded The Talks, The Talks, 18 September 2021 source ↗

Question What has been your biggest disappointment? Failure & regret

I want to be a voice for the kid. I mean, it sounds quite contrived, but I want to make music that I would have wanted to hear when I was 14.

Recorded The Talks, The Talks, 18 September 2021 source ↗

Question What is the most rewarding part of being a parent? Relationships

I want to be a voice for the kid. I mean, it sounds quite contrived, but I want to make music that I would have wanted to hear when I was 14.

Recorded The Talks, The Talks, 18 September 2021 source ↗

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