Have you ever heard the saying, “if you love your job, you’ll never work a day in your life?”

Have you ever wondered if there was really any truth to that statement? Are we actually going to find a job we love to go to every single day?

Growing up, I knew what was expected of me: get an education, get a job and achieve some level of success.

But how do you define success?

Well, doctors are successful.

So growing up, I wanted to be a doctor. Specifically, a Doctor Without Borders. I wanted to travel the world, to change and impact lives. I had myself and everyone else around me, at the age of 12, convinced that I was going to do just that.

The dream of becoming a doctor deflated in the science wing of Fort Madison High School where advanced classes scorched my GPA.

So how else could I impact lives, without literally saving them?

Teaching.

While searching for a college, I figured education was a field I could see myself going into. But boy, was I wrong. Teachers are a special breed of humans who have the ability to be 100 percent for seven hours straight, to patiently talk to people under the age of 18 and to experience every single emotion in the book on account of kids that aren’t even their own.

Realizing very quickly that teaching also wasn’t the path for me, I started college taking a safe route — I chose to study Business Administration. Although I didn’t hate my classes, I also didn’t love (most of) them. The courses I did love — journalism, advanced media workshop — were courses I wasn’t sure I’d be able to apply in the working world. All I knew was that I loved them, so I added a Public Relations major to my resume.

Although I found courses I loved, I still had no idea what my “dream job” was. It’s a question professors, friends and family members are constantly asking and it really made me wonder if I actually had a passion.

What do I love? What do I stand for? What would I enjoy spending 90,360 hours of my life doing?

Unfortunately, I still didn’t know the answer when I graduated. Once again, I took the safe route and started a job that would, at the very least, give me great experience.

Quickly into my first “big girl” job, I knew it wasn’t the one for me. I would wake up dreading work, always talking myself out of calling in, and I never desired to go the extra mile… on anything. The quality of my work started lagging, my relationships with my coworkers began to stretch and the unhappiness I acquired from the position started affecting every other part of my life.

Something was indeed missing, but I couldn’t figure out if I was just following the trend of the millennial generation or if there really was something better out there for me.

Surely this wasn’t how the next 40 years of my life are supposed to play out?

After about six months, I couldn’t fight the itch any longer. I began looking around for new opportunities, applying for jobs as soon as they posted. It wasn’t until I stumbled upon my current position that I finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel.

I made the difficult decision to leave a job that I had been at for less than a year — something I told myself I wouldn’t do. Was I even qualified for this new position? Would they look down on me for not sticking out my first job for more than 12 months?

The answers are yes and no.

Yes, I was (to my amazement) extremely qualified. And no, they didn’t care one bit that I had been at my first job for less than a year.

It wasn’t until I started my new position that I realized how much potential I actually had and how work really doesn’t have to be so dreadful.

Quitting your first job is really hard, especially when you’re a member of the millennial generation. I was embarrassed to be labeled as a “job jumper,” but when I finally mustered up the courage to put in my two-weeks notice, it felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders.

I had the opportunity to chase my dream, to discover my passion, and I wasn’t about to let something that felt so right pass me by… even if it did bundle me into a stereotype. I won’t apologize for chasing every opportunity that comes my way.

No matter how much you prepare, the road is going to twist and turn and change more than you could ever plan for. Challenges are going to pop up like brick walls, and unless you’re content with only putting forth the bare minimum and “toughing it out,” you’ve got to find the courage to figure out how you’re going to get over the wall. Sometimes the grass really is greener on the other side.

Success is what you want to define it as. Maybe that’s making a ton of money, but maybe it’s also finding something that makes you happy on a daily basis.

Don’t sell yourself short, especially on the account of what someone else thinks is best for you. No one knows you better than yourself and you deserve the best.

So if the best comes, take it.