That was true for me.

I turned left at three critical junctures in my life when I should have turned right. I wish I had known then how life-defining those decisions would turn out to be. Each time I chose the most expected path, as good Boomer girls tended to do. But all these years later, I have regretted not choosing the Interior Design path much sooner than I did. It was “my road not taken”.

In the spring of my senior year in high school, I remember everyone making party plans for senior skip day and counting down the days until graduation. Our future considerations never went much farther than what we were wearing to the Prom, the all night party, top down convertible packed with friends, Hot Town Summer In The City blaring on the radio. But as commencement drew near, the conversations began to change as parents and friends began asking “What are you going to do after graduation?” I don’t know about you, but this was a far bigger question than I was prepared to answer at 17.

At the time, I was pretty ambivalent about a career. Although I liked the idea of interior design, I didn’t know much about it and there certainly were no career centers in my high school then to help explore the subject. But I liked to read so I figured a college major in Liberal Arts was vague enough to let me procrastinate a little while longer. I meandered through a couple of years of college, taking classes that sounded interesting, and finally declared myself an English Education major. “That’s good” my Dad said. “You can always fall back on teaching.” It was almost as if I had bumbled onto a career path. Does any of this resonate with you?