Chapter 1
Where I was in my life
Set the scene. What was your life like then?
I don't know if it was because I was playing dumb on purpose or not, but in middle school and high school, only a few teachers ever told me I had a promising career ahead of me. Maybe they were too exhausted by their working conditions. Pushing a student who wasn't even trying, on purpose, took too much energy to sacrifice. By the end of high school, I was average. I had my diploma, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I asked my guidance counselor what I should do, and she said, "You're pretty. Not that ugly—actually, quite pretty. So go for the MRS degree." MRS, as in "Mrs." In other words: find a husband. At that stage of my life, I was lost. Or maybe I wasn't even trying to find myself. I lived like any young woman of my generation: my boyfriend, the flirts, my girlfriends, and a little job to buy clothes and pay for our girls' nights out. I slept until 1 p.m., watched TV, then got ready for work. I genuinely thought this gap year would help, but it was a big mistake. I needed a wake-up call.
