There is a popular saying that the "jack of all trades is a master of none." I have spent the past ten years of my life searching for an exception to this meaning. It may be a symptom of being the middle child and the second sister of four kids, but for as long as I can remember, I was always an overachiever. In grammar school, I entertained myself with knitting club, running the newspaper club, drama club, chorus, monitor club, and winning science and history fair competitions. In high school, I participated in the National Honors Society, scholastic bowl competitions, volleyball, peer leading, soup kitchens, co-lead two ethnic clubs, and performed in talent shows and dance festivals. In the four years I spent in college, I managed to complete two science majors, a minor, complete my pre-health requirements, research commitments, and a job as a lab technician at the local hospital. As exhausting as this list may be to read, I just want to point out that it was more exhausting in experience. Life was never boring, but I did reach a point where I just pulled the brakes on life and asked myself,"Why am I doing all this? What is my purpose?" That point was when I graduated from college. I questioned whether my love for science and medicine was a genuine desire and not just a result of my overprotective stereotypical Asian upbringing. I went to X Univ with a desire to pursue the career path of a doctor and I left it with the uncertainty that becoming one would help me address all of life's answers. I really had no clear idea what the f*** I wanted to do with my life.
I just wanted to be happy, and happiness is subjective.
So going back to the Jack's trade conundrum, I decided to pursue a "life-changing" experience that would help me settle down on this career thing, potentially a stint in Africa with the peace corps or something. It turns out that life never really works the way we imagine it to. Instead, my life-changing experience came in the form of a beautiful baby girl named Saya. By the time Saya was born, I had already acquired enough experience to deem myself "exposed" to the medical industry. For two years, I worked as a lab technician, mainly performing phlebotomy procedures for inpatients and ER patients at the local hospital. Despite the low pay (we were paid $5 below the median pay for phlebotomists) and the crazy work-load (I had between 30-70 requisitions per shift), I really enjoyed the fact that I had a chance to meet people of all walk of life. Unlike in retail and business, there is a sense of respect, camaraderie, and dignity that is exemplified in the the healthcare industry. Having spent the last few months as a pregnant lady working in the ER, I also experienced some very dangerous situations, but the experiences never scared me from working in health care.
However, I also knew, for a long time, that I had to move onto something better. Considering the birth of my daughter, I wasn't ready to go back to school, emotionally or financially........
