Ten Years Ago, I was in my Quarterlife Crisis

Ten years ago, I was 25 getting ready to be 26 and I was in a career funk. I decided to write this post mainly to tell the current twenty somethings - Don't Worry! If you are in a crisis, you will get through it!

I graduated college a little late due to the fact I changed majors four times, Political Science to Nursing to English to Criminal Justice. I worked on a major Republican Gubernatorial campaign and took a year off from school to focus on that as well. I did earn 12 credits for internship for that though. After that campaign, I was burned out on politics and after changing majors to nursing and English - I decided Criminal Justice was the best route for me. My goal was to be an ATF Agent - I did two internships with the local police and a federal law enforcement agency. However, due to a hiring freeze with the feds I was stuck working at an ice rink. That is when my crisis per say went into effect.

I am a huge ice hockey fan and Louisville was getting ready to get their first American Hockey League team - the Louisville Panthers. I decided to apply for a job in their sales department, because criminal justice careers were pissing me off. I got the job and was extremely eager and thinking that maybe I could go work for an NHL team. Let me just say, the three months I worked for that team were hell. COMPLETE UTTER HELL! I worked for assholes and they kept firing people for slow sales. Well um HELLO - Kentucky is not a hockey state - its a basketball and horse racing state. I got wind I may be the next to let go and ended up getting a job as Assistant Manager at Victoria's Secret, so I left hockey not knowing what the hell I wanted to do. I lasted at Victoria's Secret all of two weeks because it wasn't for me and I ended up quitting and was unemployed for a month.

I was starting to put applications in with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, however in the meantime I decided to go work for the State of Kentucky in the court system. I actually really liked my job there, it was interesting, the pay - it sucked I only made $18,500 a year and had to get a second job at a Beauty Salon to help with rent and my car payment. Well finally in 2000, I got the phone call after all the police testing, physical fitness testing, interviews, I finally got hired! I was out of my crisis and starting my career -- I enter my ninth year of government service come August. I never made it to ATF, but I have worked for some amazing agencies and with some amazing people. I have experienced amazing things and tragedies (9/11). Do I have any regrets? Yes, working for that hockey team, but it is what it is.

Some ask now if I am entering a pre mid life crisis because I have taken on the EMT thing - am I bored at work? Yes, but that is because I sit behind a desk and I am an adrenaline junkie.

So to my friends in their 20's - enjoy! If you find yourself in a rut, you will get out of it! I am in a panick that I am about to be 40 in 4 years -- I am getting the crazy questions like "Where is your husband? and Where are your kids?" Good questions -- I don't know and if it is meant to be, it will happen hopefully.