This Keepsake Reminds Me of My First Dream — And Why I'm Grateful It Never Came True Sometimes the best path for us is one we never could have imagined.

At age 24, I planned my life out: I got a job at the State Department in Washington, D.C., which I planned to use to enter the Foreign Service, which I thought would help me achieve my ultimate goal — to become a diplomat. But then life got in the way. I fell in love with a friend who would become my husband, and he got a job in Houston, my hometown. So in 2012, I chose to follow him home, giving up one dream for another. As I prepared to leave D.C., I bought a small, porcelain dish engraved with the U.S. Department of State's seal. It was touristy, but it felt like a souvenir of my old life.

My job search in Texas was frustrating. I'd stare at that porcelain dish and feel nostalgic. I didn't want to take some random job just to make money. I was looking for a path — something meaningful and reliable, like the predetermined career framework I'd left behind. I was passionate about sustainability, and kept wondering: Who will give me a job in this field?

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Honestly, I never considered entrepreneurship. I thought I needed a specific set of credentials to be in business. After all, that's how government and corporate jobs work: You must be qualified. I had no MBA and no big consulting firm on my resume. But after a year of dead ends, I came to realize something: Nobody is going to do this for me. And isn't that the seed of entrepreneurship?

I started a consulting firm. I had no idea what I was doing, but I worked hard, found good advisors, and followed the breadcrumbs. As it turns out, I didn't need qualifications! All I needed was curiosity, a trust in myself, and an acceptance that most paths aren't as predictable as the one I had left behind. My consulting firm grew and thrived. My partner and I sold it in 2021, and then I decided to pursue another business for which I had no qualifications: I launched MendIt, a platform for clothing repair, where I'm now figuring things out all over again.

I still have that porcelain dish sitting on my desk, but it no longer makes me nostalgic. Now it reminds me that, sometimes, our "plans" can blind us to the greater opportunities ahead. Anything is possible when you relentlessly follow your passion, drop the stories about credentials and worthiness, and simply roll up your sleeves to get started.

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