Trying new things, prospering, and succeeding. Three things I am glad I endured in the past year.

These three things have taught me many lessons and helped me to achieve many things. The feelings from each individual endeavor I have taken in this past year has impacted me in many different ways. I never thought my work experience would have such a huge impact on my entire life.

I was always a fashion-lover who had many, many different clothes. I would rather buy clothes than books to read starting at age 8. When I was 16 I got my first job at Lucki Clover, the cutest, elegant boutique in Red Bank, New Jersey.

I was in love with the feeling of walking into "work" and being around an entire store of things I wanted to buy. It was the best day ever when I assisted a woman on her entire "night out" outfit, and she made the purchase. At this job, I really developed an even bigger love for fashion, and I decided that my goal was to include fashion within my future career.

When I would see the shipments of clothes coming in 24/7, I would get excited like a child on Christmas morning. I was in love with fashion.

I found something I was passionate about, and it was a good feeling.

Years passed and I decided to try something totally different. I decided to be a camp counselor. I babysat a couple times, but nothing crazy. I figured, why not try? For 8 weeks, I worked at Pine Grove Day Camp in Wall, New Jersey. I never thought these kids would make me smile so much. All day long, I was impacting these campers and they were impacting me without even knowing it.

I remember being told that on the last day, I may cry. I thought to myself, "They are little kids that I'll be working with for three months, why would I cry?" Well, I was so wrong.

When you hear your camper call you their best friend, you do not think much of it (quite frankly, I would just laugh). On that last day, you realize that you created a huge impact on their lives. Being a counselor does not mean hanging out with your 6th-grade campers on the weekend, it is about creating a camp friendship with them so they can be happy and learn new things.

Along with the campers, the counselors were learning new things and smiling every day. The smiles on these kids faces throughout the day were contagious. I could not help but smile and cry when I saw how upset my campers were to leave at the end of the summer.

I made an impact, it was a good feeling.

Following that, I applied for another retail job. However, instead of clothes, I was dealing with sunglasses. I got the job at Sunglass Hut in the Jersey Shore Premium Outlets in Tinton Falls, New Jersey. I figured I would try something different than before, but something that interested me.

In my first weeks working there, I learned so much knowledge about sunglasses and how their worth is so much more than we think. The materials used to craft some of the sunglasses are so valuable. Before this experience, I just thought of sunglasses as either metal or plastic.

When I made my first customer interaction, I was overwhelmed. I realized that if I did not create a customer relationship, I would most likely not sell a pair of sunglasses. Hours passed, and I made my sales goal for the day.

I achieved what I needed to, it was a good feeling.

With these three experiences, I learned that trying new things leads to prospering and succeeding. It is like a ripple effect. I truly believe I learned these things through my work experience.

Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Think about the last time you truly were proud of yourself. Did you try something new? Did you learn different things? Did you feel yourself smiling ear to ear?

My work experience allowed me to feel my mind and well-being prosper and succeed after trying all these things. You may not experience these things through your work experience, but they are necessary for growth and you will experience them in your own way.

“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love." - Maya Angelou