I majored in history because I like history. I learned to think critically,to ask the right questions, to determine what sources were reliable, to conduct research, and to write well. During my senior year, I applied to law school. About a month before my graduation, I decided that I did not want to go to law school after all, so I spent the summer after college waiting tables and working for a caterer. My parents were not thrilled, but I was supporting myself and I knew my gig was only temporary.
In the fall, I moved to Boston to look for a career-path job. To pay the bills while I figured out what I wanted to do, I worked for a temp agency, which placed me with a mutual fund transfer agent. After about a week of doing secretarial type work, I was offered a job as a technical writer. That was my first career.
After a few years, I went back to school and got a master’s in journalism. After that, I was a journalist, a science writer, and a director of Christian education. Today, I am a volunteer ESL teacher, and soon to be a farmer, or at least the wife of one, as my husband’s fourth career involves buying a farm.
Even during the summer of table-waiting and the weeks of temping, I paid my bills with my own income and didn’t ask my parents for a dime. I don’t regret that experience, and neither do the servers who wait on me in restaurants to this day, as I am an excellent tipper.