Three summers ago, (I was 13) I had the opportunity to work for my cousin in her jewelry store. My job was to assist my cousin/her employees. Even though the pay was (very) little, I accepted the fact that I was only so young to find a real job so it was good enough. The hours were long (10-7 pm), I was surrounded by super bright, white lights and I was exhausted by the time I got home. I began dreading the work since I was so inexperienced. 

After a while of shadowing my cousin in the store, I became more comfortable with my surroundings, the industry, and the customers. I became familiarized with the trade (as I started consulting and selling) and fell in love. I came back the following three summers (and weekends during the school year) and got a raise. There’s just something about helping customers that made the job so worth it. Another awesome thing was having the customers remember you even after a couple years. I loved the thrill and rush of the job so much that I even considered (I still do) opening up my own jewelry business.

This experience has made me realize the importance of finding a job/industry you enjoy. I also learned that if you don’t love/like what you do, you’ll be miserable for the majority of your life. Having happiness within the workplace is important to me. 

Now to go off topic a little. (It ties in eventually).

I recently found myself watching this Jubilee YouTube video on pro vs. anti-lockdowners and it motivated me quite a bit. I watched all 27 minutes with such amusement. I was incredibly inspired by this one female doctor on the episode who spoke with so much passion and professionalism. I found her on Instagram and basically stalked her whole account reading captions. This was my favorite caption. Since I already had aspirations to possibly become a doctor/medical worker, her wise words nudged me farther in order to pursue this field.

Similar to everyone else growing up, I constantly changed my career goal as I was introduced to new job perspectives, career stories, family members’ professions, etc. I jumped back and forth from lawyer, teacher, engineer, and anything else you can imagine that a young girl wanted to be. Eventually, I got over these phases, but one that always stuck around was becoming a doctor. Not only was it practical and more common in my family (the medical field), but the field was fascinating too.

Regardless that there is a lot of cutthroat competition to become a doctor, I realized that there’s cutthroat competition basically everywhere, i.e., the cooking, movie, music, legal, teaching industry… Although some paths may be shorter than others, it is important to focus on the finish line no matter how long. After all, good things come to those that wait. 

I’m not saying that I’ve seriously decided that I want to become a doctor (maybe), but I just needed to reiterate to myself that patience, happiness and resilience is key when pursuing a profession.