When I was little, I used to dream that I would be a famous actress or singer, President of the United States, and a lot of other cliche jobs that not everyone would end up doing. As I got older, I changed my mind, a lot. I probably changed my mind every day during my 10th year of life, because nothing seemed appealing. I had already realized the harsh realities of life; you won't 100% love your job every day, it will be hard, and sometimes you'll absolutely hate it, and that was too much for a 10-year-old to fathom.

When I graduated high school, I thought 'OK, I want to be a writer." And joined Rhode Island College as an undeclared, exploring writing and management in the fall of 2015. This was when I get my first real dose of the 'real world.' I started my first job (retail) and I thought, 'this isn't so bad!'

It wasn't until I worked Black Friday from 12 a.m. - 10 a.m. in what seemed like a never-ending pit of misery and angry stares from people who only care about the deals they were getting.

It wasn't until management took advantage of my loyalty and spit it right back in my face; or when coworkers would lie to get ahead and try to blame things on me.

I realized then that I couldn't do retail for the rest of my life. I simply could not work 40 hours at some retail job and be satisfied with my life. I'm not saying being an advertising agent or event planner would fulfill me any better, but at least I wouldn't be working some minimum wage job that drained my soul for the rest of my life.

I'm picky about what job I do next. I'm not dedicated to a company that can toss me out on my butt without any reason at any time. I'm not spending my life putting in hard work for a company who can't remember my name unless my employee file is right in front of their face.

It may take some time, but I won't sell myself short. I'm not lazy, I just won't settle for a minimum wage job.