I used to agonize over the question, "What do I want to do with my life?" Early on, I thought I might become a missionary or teach English in a foreign country. At college, I studied Sociology and Spanish, and it seemed like the logical next step was to become a social worker or a therapist. Many people don’t know this, but after college, I applied and was accepted to a masters program in Marriage and Family Therapy. I turned it down. I guess I just wasn't certain this was the right path for my life, at least not certain enough to incur tens of thousands of dollars of debt from another degree.
So, in the midst of all this uncertainty and indecision, I moved home and joined the corporate workforce. For the next few years, I spent each weekday sitting at a desk, waiting for "my calling" to make itself known.
In 2016, I found myself working as an executive assistant to the CEO of a successful internet technology company. It was a fast-paced, high stakes role where I developed the hotly debated skill of multitasking. While I gained a lot of valuable business knowledge, I didn’t feel like I was advancing myself in the direction I wanted to go. There wasn’t much about that job that was creative, and though I didn’t realize it at the time, I was trying to force myself to fit into the role like a mismatched puzzle piece. I found myself doodling illustrations at my desk, hand lettering quotes to keep me inspired and motivated, and scrolling through the Instagram feeds of artists I admired - wishing I had the guts or the talent to be like them.
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