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.

Recorded Peyton Manning said elsewhere, not written here
I wanted to play pro football or pro baseball.

American Academy of Achievement interview, 22 June 2007 source ↗

Others on this question

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Chris Hoy British track cyclist, 1994–2013
Scotland’s rugby captain. My hero Gavin Hastings was captain when he came to our school for a training session when I was 10 or 11. I met him and was blown away.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 10 February 2018 source ↗
Anne Enright Novelist and short-story writer
When I was seven I wanted to be a nun. When I was eight, I wanted to be a boy so that I could be anything I wanted. Also, of course, I wanted to be Samantha in Bewitched.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 7 September 2024 source ↗

More from Peyton Manning

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Question Do you rely on inspiration or discipline to make work? Craft & work
You’re talking about going back to as a freshman in high school. Every day from August until — the season is growing in pro ball — but August to December. Practice is at this time. It’s 4:00 to 6:00 in high school, it’s 2:00 to 4:00 in college, and it’s 1:00 to 3:00 in pro ball, but that is your routine.
Recorded American Academy of Achievement interview, 22 June 2007 source ↗
Question How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a favourite failure? Failure & regret
That's a real challenge and a real issue. Reading the statistics, they had a ranking of quarterbacks, and the statistic was the percentage of a touchdown drive after an interception. To me, that is a telling statistic. The guys that have a high percentage are the guys that have short memories. They talk about having amnesia as a quarterback. You better move along from it. It is hard to say you forget about it, because you want to learn from it. You want to address it. You can't just say it never happened.
Recorded Academy of Achievement interviewer, Academy of Achievement interview, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1 April 2007 source ↗
Question Which teacher, parent, coach or friend most made you who you are, and what did you learn from them? Relationships
My dad had such a big influence on me, he was kind of all that wrapped into one. Even if we had a guest speaker at our school, or read something in class, or heard about it, I would always go back and check with him. “Is this right? Would you agree with this, Dad?” He had a big influence on me, so he was the guy I went to for advice and the guy I listened to, and still do today.
Recorded Academy of Achievement interview source ↗

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