I didn’t know what I wanted to do right after college so I took the first full time office job I could find (sales position, but working out of a cubicle all day). I knew before the end of the first week that there was absolutely no way I wanted to be in that kind of role for the rest of my life, but didn’t know what that meant yet. I stuck it out for 1 miserable year, then finally got to the point where I took the plunge and left. I still didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do but knew I wanted it to be something that directly helped people. I took a job at a library and explored some different volunteer opportunities before deciding I wanted to be a high school teacher. It’s now been about 4 years since I left that first job and I’m in my first year of teaching (going back to school and getting the license took some time). It’s extremely stressful sometimes but also amazing and I can’t imagine doing anything outside of education now. As much as I hated my first experiences with work at the time I’m now so grateful for them because it helps me appreciate what is often an incredibly difficult and thankless job in a way I wouldn’t have been able to had I had it all figured out from the beginning.