Give this section a short title.

In high school, I had straight A's. As I stared at my future, I was unsure about what I wanted to do with my life. I could either go to the CEGEP and go to university after, or I could go to trade school and not have a dead-end job.

Choice 1 : Cegep life.

Choice 2 : Trade school reality.

Cegep life.

I liked CEGEP, but the drudgery of the lectures made me skeptical about my future. I kept asking myself if it would be valuable in my future or would just be alienating work. As a teacher praised my work, I asked myself if I could do this for 2 more years.

Choice 1 : Academic burnout.

Choice 2 : First internship.

Trade school reality.

I had grease-stained hands while I started learning the ropes. The OJT I was having was very overwhelming. I started understanding the ins and outs of this job fast. But when I saw trainees retire with bad backs, I dreaded my future. Will these skills be worth the drawbacks?

Choice 1 : Skilled trade career.

Choice 2 : Mixed career.

Academic burnout.

The all-nighters I was doing destroyed my time management. The counselor told me I should take a leave of absence, but I started panicking about falling behind the pack. That same night I did my research about internships abroad; maybe real experience would help my mental state.

Choice 1 : Push through.

Choice 2 : Take a leap year.

First internship.

My foot in the door became a coffee-stained shirt. Office politics became my nightmare; I saw the manager flirting with interns. I knew reporting this misconduct would undermine my chances of getting hired, so I stayed in my lane.

Choice 1 : Report the misconduct.

Choice 2 : Stay silent.

Skilled trade career.

My first premium wage came in, and I felt very accomplished. But the hard work started taking a toll on my physical abilities. My boss told me that owning a small business is where the real pension starts coming in.

Choice 1 : Continue being an employee.

Choice 2 : Become an employer.

Mixed career.

As I was juggling between my business class course and welding, I quickly became overwhelmed again. My professor told me I should be picking one. My trade school was offering me safety, but CEGEP offered me growth. I knew I had to make a change because it could not continue the way it was going.

Choice 1 : Focus on school.

Choice 2 : Focus on work.

Push through.

As I ignored the headaches and dreaded the next day, I was determined to keep my straight A's. The drudgery of the exam left me overwhelmed as always, but I withheld my exhaustion because I didn't want to fail. My health started hindering my performances. I realized there was no compensation package worth all these sacrifices.

Choice 1 : depression.

Take a leap year.

My leap year was the ultimate test drive. For a whole year I focused on learning the ropes of stock analysis. I volunteered everywhere I could get a little experience, and I set aside my pride to ask a lot of questions about everything. Now that I was getting educated on my own, I started enjoying it and didn't feel the dead-end feeling of academia.

Choice 1 : The comeback.

Report the misconduct.

When my manager's flirting became sexual harassment, I dreaded speaking up since the perpetrator made threats about withholding me from future promotions. I went to HR with an overwhelming amount of documents to help their thorough investigation. My small internship almost ended, but at least I wasn't a team player for a corrupt system.

Choice 1 : Promotion.

Stay silent.

I didn't say anything about the manager's misconduct. Even if it was wrong, the perpetrator had a lot of power in hand, and I needed this internship. Although silence felt dreaded, it was safer, and I didn't want to risk my foot in the door. I wondered if my inaction would end up undermining the future interns.

Choice 1 : The next victim.

Continue being an employee.

The welding shop's premium wages kept me working there. Although I was risking retiring with a broken back, one of the biggest drawbacks of this job. This dead-end job managed to put food on the table even though it alienated me.

Choice 1 : Sad retreat.

Become an employer.

The legwork of running a small business was overwhelming at first, but I could have compensation packages and vacation policies that benefited me, and I wasn't chasing a pension. Watching my workers do well with my premium wages made me smile.

Choice 1 : Happy retreat.

Focus on school.

I left my premium wages and dead-end job to go to CEGEP. The drudgery of night classes overwhelmed me at first, but as I started getting praised by my teachers for the good work I was doing, I started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Choice 1 : Diploma.

Focus on work.

I was still mastering the ins and outs of the job. When the boss offered me vacation days for being a good employee, I smiled. The contentment could wait until I owned the shop.

Choice 1 : Broken retirement.

depression.

I fell in a depression and stopped going to school.

Choice 1 : New beginnings

The comeback.

As I came back from my leap year, school went well, and I finally finished my CEGP. The future is still to write.

Choice 1 : New beginnings

Promotion.

By reporting the misconduct, I got a promotion since they wanted someone with character to get it.

Choice 1 : New beginnings

The next victim.

I became the next victim of the perpetrator, and no one helped me report it.

Choice 1 : New beginnings

Sad retreat.

I stopped working at 65 with a broken back and no energy to do anything other than watch TV and drink beers.

Choice 1 : New beginnings

Happy retreat.

I retired at 65 with a very nice fund to keep me alive and have fun.

Choice 1 : New beginnings

Diploma.

I finished my classes and now can see a job that isn't alienating.

Choice 1 : New beginnings

Broken retirement.

I retired at 60 with nice funds but a broken back and a lot of health problems.

Choice 1 : New beginnings