My Spectacular Job: Female Firefighter

I was an editorial assistant at a big legal paper. It was supposed to be a sweet job, a stepping stone to bigger things, but I didn't see the value of articles about promotions, new court appointments and meager scandals. I was bored to tears. I thought, "Is this all there is to working life?"

I made surreptitious phone calls to friends, and wore unprofessional outfits. I should have been fired. The gleam of my Stanford education was the only thing that saved me. I saw my future as a mundane flipbook where I sat behind a desk and moved only my typing fingers. It scared me.