--- ---  # Nicki Minaj Apparently Had Big Dreams as a Little Girl, But They Did Not Involve Rapping by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Aug 25, 2014 4:14 PM UTC  Rapper Nicki Minaj performs during Power 105.1 Powerhouse 2013 at Barclays Center on November 2, 2013 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Rapper Nicki Minaj performs during Power 105.1 Powerhouse 2013 at Barclays Center on November 2, 2013 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.Michael Stewart—WireImage / Getty Images by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Aug 25, 2014 4:14 PM UTC Many young girls can only _dream_ of the type of superstardom Nicki Minaj enjoys: fame, fortune, unlimited access [to wigs](https://www.google.com/search?q=nicki+minaj+wigs&es%5Fsm=91&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=F177U578I8-cyATHu4HYAQ&ved=0CAgQ%5FAUoAQ&biw=1902&bih=896#q=nicki+minaj+wigs&tbm=isch), unlimited access [to Drake](https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player%5Fembedded&v=LDZX4ooRsWs), etc. But before she was Nicki Minaj, she was Onika Maraj — just a normal girl attending P.S. 45 in Queens, New York. The video above, which [surfaced on Reddit](http://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/2eg0dd/nicki%5Fminajs%5Fdream%5Fchanged%5Freal%5Fquick/), shows young Onika discussing her hopes and dreams. And let us assure you: they do not involve wigs or Drake _at all_! Instead, she says she aspires to be a nurse, so she can help people less fortunate than herself. Real talk: there’s very little information about where this video comes from, but it sure seems like Nicki — even without that goofy [Barbie voice](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JipHEz53sU). Anaconda Singer Nicki Minaj Dreamt of Becoming Nurse As a Young Child ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3174786/nicki-minaj-nurse-video-dreams/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3174786/nicki-minaj-nurse-video-dreams/"},"headline":"Nicki Minaj Apparently Had Big Dreams as a Little Girl, But They Did Not Involve Rapping","datePublished":"2014-08-25T16:14:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:12:43.811Z","description":"Funny how life works out, isn't it?","url":"https://time.com/3174786/nicki-minaj-nurse-video-dreams/","keywords":["Newsfeed","celebrities","Music","Nicki Minaj","celebrity","Nurse"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcb9bb5ce527716d4/6986a050adae44430f5449e5/186675546.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Grossman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcb9bb5ce527716d4/6986a050adae44430f5449e5/186675546.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Power 105.1 Powerhouse 2013","caption":"Power 105.1 Powerhouse 2013","creditText":"Michael Stewart—WireImage / Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3174786/nicki-minaj-nurse-video-dreams/","name":"Nicki Minaj Apparently Had Big Dreams as a Little Girl, But They Did Not Involve Rapping"}}]}] ```