“Don’t ask what the world needs.

Ask what makes you come alive and go do that.

Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” –

Howard Thurman, advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

My job at the White House started the way most of my adventures start – on a whim. I was about to graduate from a small college in southeast Tennessee and all I knew was that I wanted to live in a city. I had grown up in small towns my whole life and was drawn to the glamour I assumed a city life would entail: marching down bustling sidewalks in stilettos, coffee in one hand, confident cab-hailing power in the other. I once heard fashion icon Diane Von Furstenberg say in an interview, “I didn't know what I wanted to do, but I always knew the woman I wanted to be.” That was basically me, except I knew what I wanted to wear: power suits.

I was a business major in college and while I did well in my classes, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to be. When it came time to say what I thought I wanted to do after graduation, I researched multiple things and settled on “consultant” without much conviction. I didn’t really understand what a consultant did, but it sounded flexible. Since I’m a commitment-phobe, that felt like a good choice. The nearest big city to my college where consultants might be was Atlanta, Georgia, so I fixated on that: Go to Atlanta; wear a suit. That was about the extent of my plans.

While I was mulling over my future, my friend Kelly told me she was going in a different direction. She had signed up to do a semester in Washington D.C. that promised an exciting three months in the nation’s capital and a minor in political science. I had no interest in government at the time, but that changed when Kelly returned from her semester raving about living on Capitol Hill and working for senators. I started to think maybe her path was better than my plans. I mean, they wore suits in D.C., right?

Another reason I considered a path to D.C. was because my ambitions were heavily influenced by something many professionals are influenced by but probably wouldn’t admit it: the entertainment industry.

That’s right, my friend! You no longer have to be ashamed that you’ve toyed with the idea of working in a hospital because of Grey’s Anatomy, or as a spy because of Homeland, or as a dealer of shiplap because of Joanna Gaines. You aren’t alone.

In fact, the U.S. Navy reportedly set up recruiting stations outside movie theaters during Top Gun’s original release and raised recruitment rates by 500 percent during the following year. Genius, right? Can you imagine if law schools put recruitment tables staffed with well-dressed girls and chihuahuas outside the theaters showing Legally Blonde? Our courtrooms would be so chic today.

I was among the throngs of fans who were drawn to the show The West Wing back in the day, which made working in D.C. look cool. All the witty banter pulled me in. I wanted to be a CJ Craig, or a Jeb Bartlett, or to date a Josh Lyman. (I can’t explain it. I love a good nerd and he was the perfect level of obnoxious arrogance I was drawn to in my naïve early years.)

I doubt I mentioned to anyone back then that a TV show was part of the reason I went to work in government. And I didn’t need to. We don’t have to admit the seemingly silly things that spur us to want something, or that initially draw us to a career field. But we shouldn’t shun the new interests those things fuel, either. Take an action. See if you really would like that job or hobby. That initial thing that sparked your interest might be the first breadcrumb you’re supposed to follow to get on the best trail for your life.

The way my life has unfolded since my West Wing-fueled path to working in D.C. has only convinced me that sometimes something as small as a feeling, or admiring a uniform, might be God’s way of getting me on the right path. If you keep thinking about something, you shouldn’t ignore that. It might a sign.

Pro Tip: Sometimes the desires we shun for being silly or superficial are there for a reason. If we didn’t have anyone motivated by looking cool and being a hero, who would do all the firefighting, astronaut-ing, and SWAT-teaming for us?

I ended up applying and being accepted to the same semester in D.C. program Kelly did and part of the program entailed serving in an unpaid internship somewhere in town. By what can only be explained as a miracle, I was offered an internship at the White House.

I took it because it sounded cool. But I was so ill-prepared for D.C. life that I couldn’t have told you who the Vice President was.

Well, I knew his name, I just apparently couldn’t pick him out of a line-up if I had to, as was evidenced by a moment during my first week at work when I was unable to recognize him on the south lawn of the White House. The staff had gathered for an event and an older gentleman with white hair, clearly important, walked in front of the crowd. I whispered, “Who is that?” to my fellow intern. To which she replied, in disbelief, “You mean the Vice President??” Ah yes. I clearly belonged there.

Having arrived in D.C. basically on a whim and having been thrust into the most highly-coveted of internships, I was a bit intimidated, to say the least. The other three interns in my office all looked like they should be there. They were either studying law, media relations, or political science. They possessed important knowledge of things like history, and the facial features of Dick Cheney. All I had done was find a program through my liberal arts college and showed up to start participating in all those cool walk-and-talk scenes Aaron Sorkin assured me they do all day, every day in D.C.

But that internship launched my adult life, and I cannot begin to explain how grateful I am. Had I talked myself out of it because it felt silly to want something just because it looked cool, I don’t know where I’d be today. I do know I wouldn’t have the career path I’ve loved, or lived in the city I love, or have the friends I love.

Sometimes it’s ok to pursue something just because it seems interesting or cool. Maybe that’s God’s way of getting us on the path we’re supposed to be on. It’s also ok to pursue things we don’t feel worthy of or prepared for. Just try it and see where it leads. We can always keep our real motives to ourselves. ;)