To All the Jobs I’ve Loved Before

I had my first real job at sixteen.
(Not counting my babysitting years.)

I was a server at Cafe de France in Plano, Texas. I worked there off and on for about a year before moving on to Stonebridge Country Club the summer before my senior year of high school. I knew absolutely nothing about golf, but my friend convinced me to apply because she promised I would meet cute boys.

She was right.

By the end of high school, I had fallen into retail life and quickly became an assistant manager at Agaci in Collin Creek Mall. Then graduation came, I packed up my life, moved to Arizona, and started the search for my next great work love affair.

There have been many.

I worked as a hostess at Red Robin near the Cardinals training facility. Since I knew football only slightly better than golf, I had no idea who the players were when my coworkers nudged me and whispered, “Do you know who that is?” I never did.

During that season of life, I also went on a date with my manager to see Father of the Bride. I loved the movie. The date? Not as much.

My first step into the fitness world came through a women’s gym called Naturally Women. That job eventually led to decades of teaching fitness classes and training clients at places like LA Fitness, Mountainside, Life Time, EOS, and smaller boutique studios around the valley. Fitness became one of the longest-running chapters of my adult life.

Through college, I lifeguarded, taught swim lessons, and worked for the YMCA. I eventually returned years later as a Membership Coordinator, hoping to recreate the magic I remembered from my early twenties.

It turns out some places are better left as memories.

The rest of my college years looked a little like this:

• bought a one-way ticket to Cancun, Mexico

• worked at more restaurants than I can remember

• sold tickets for the Arizona Lottery at Suns games

• unhappily worked at travel incentive companies

• reluctantly worked at a title agency

• was a stat runner for media personnel during Suns games.

• happily worked at a local florist

• sold women’s clothing on commission

• and yes… became a professional cheerleader for the Arizona Rattlers

(Technically, that one counts as employment because I did receive a paycheck.)

After college, marriage, kids, and a degree in Recreation Management, the list kept growing.

I worked for a physical therapist running early morning fitness programs. I became an anti-tobacco educator, which was honestly a really fun job. I worked for the Boys & Girls Club as both a Program Director and Executive Director. I sold radio advertising. I substitute taught for a while, which confirmed I was definitely not meant to be a classroom teacher.

I taught preschool Spanish despite speaking little Spanish.

I worked for Nordstrom twice. Sold jewelry at home parties. Started a baking business. Took a city office job that looked wonderful on paper but didn’t fit the season of life I was in. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, I found myself working at Anthropologie… where I still work today.

Whew.

That is a lot of jobs.

And honestly? I may still be forgetting a few.

The funny thing is, I still catch myself looking. A few days ago, I opened my Merlin Bird ID app simply to identify a bird singing outside my window. A “We’re Hiring” screen popped up and before I knew it, I was clicking through job openings for positions I am wildly unqualified for.

It’s like a little adrenaline rush.

I’m sure a therapist could have a field day analyzing all of this. Maybe it’s the thrill of a new challenge. Maybe I always want to feel needed. Maybe I’m constantly searching for the next version of myself.

Or maybe I just genuinely love people, stories, and new experiences.

What I do know is this: every single job gave me something. Some gave me confidence. Some gave me heartbreak. Some gave me hilarious stories. Some gave me lifelong friends. A few gave me truly terrible bosses and taught me exactly who I never want to become.

And while there were definitely a couple jobs where both parties were equally happy to see me leave… I don’t regret any of them.

To all the jobs I’ve loved before… thank you.

You gave me paychecks, memories, lessons, awkward moments, funny stories, and pieces of myself I probably wouldn’t have discovered otherwise.

And for that, I’m grateful.

xo, Mindy

PS - At last count I have had 40 jobs in 37 years.