thought exercise
Okay so typically the internal dialog is, if I'd zigged but not zagged, I'd be this happier, more appreciated etc person.
I was daydreaming about another direction I could've gone. What if a young me had fallen hard for China's people, culture and language (distinctly possible)? What if they'd taken Mandarin instead of Russian? The big place they'd likely have wound up is the State Department and, if so, they did a lot of The Right Things, yet their life kinda sucks right now.