Do You Ever Ask Yourself "What If?"

I am not one to dwell on the past. I don't generally contemplate what my life would be like if I had chosen a different path than the one I ultimately took. Every now and then, though, something will come up that makes me think "what if?"

Take my career choice, for example. I have had a rough week at work this week, and the other day I said to myself "I should have been a pharmacist." You see, when I first started college, that is what I was going to be...

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...but then I took a chemistry class that started at 7AM. It was difficult enough to stay awake during the class, and I just could not get in to the subject matter. It didn't interest me at all. The professor's voice was monotonous, and he basically read from a book, so instead of listening to him, my mind would wander and I often caught myself wondering if pharmacy was really the best career choice for me.

How hard could a pharmacist's job be, though? If I worked in one of the big pharmacies that utilizes pharmacy automation, my job would simply be to transfer a certain quantity of pills from a large bottle into a small bottle, print and apply a label, and call out a name. Right? I'm sure there is much more to it, but being the dumb 17 year old that I was, that was my vision.

Then I thought about the fact that I would be prescribing drugs to people. Drugs that could have serious side effects if the dosage was incorrect. And what if I opened the wrong bottle, or mislabeled something? The result could be disastrous. Someone could die.

That was all I needed in my head to drop that chemistry class and find a new major. I sought out advice from a counselor at the junior college I was attending. I looked at salary surveys. I thought about what my academic strengths were. I was good at math and I was very logical. So I decided to be an accountant.

My job can definitely be stressful at times, but for the most part, I like it, and I am good at what I do. The best part is that I don't have anyone's life in my hands.

What if I had become a pharmacist, though? Well, I wouldn't have met Brian. I would probably have kids, but not Rylie and Bryce. You see, Brian and I met at my first "real job" out of college. We worked at an investment management firm together. If I had become a pharmacist, I certainly would not have worked at that company. And since I moved to Orlando for that job, I probably would not have even had the opportunity to even meet him outside of work.

I am forever grateful for that 7AM Chemistry class I had, and for the professor that made the subject matter so ridiculously boring. I love my life and couldn't imagine it any other way.

Do you ever ask yourself "What if?" What would your life be like if you had taken a different path?