Just Right for Me

I guess you could call me a late bloomer. As in I never quite knew what I’d want to be when I grew up.

I mean, I was serious about my future. Really, really serious about my future. I gave it a lot of thought. I really did.

For a while – when I was about 10 years old, I thought I might want to take care of animals. I loved going to the zoo. I loved animals of every size and shape. I could be an animal doctor – heal sick or injured animals. That sounded perfect for me.

Well, at least for a time. I thought it would be perfect for me. Until my brother’s cat got run over by a car. The moment I saw his precious cat dead on the side of the road, I knew I would never be an animal doctor. First I threw up, then I cried for a week. Nope, animal doctor would not work for me.

I considered at least a million different potential jobs. At least a million. Maybe more.

Nothing in any way medical. Turns out the sight of blood made me puke – that wiped out a whole bunch of possible jobs.

So, nothing medical. Next I considered some kind of outreach. A cousin mentioned wanting to be a missionary – travel the world helping people. But as for me, I got car sick just going on a half-hour car trip. I’d never make it going all over the world.

So, no missionary work.

I thought about being an accountant – no idea why. But math was always, always, always a mystery to me. I confess I sometimes have to count on my fingers. Sigh.

As I grew up, I tried job after job. Summer work often. Camp counselor – no. Swimming coach – no (almost drowned). Store clerk – no, too much being nice to angry people.

I thought of teaching. That’s a helping kind of job. But there were classes full of math or even cutting up stuff. Nah, not for me.

The law caught my attention, and I gave that a try – a real, genuine, serious try. I even imagined myself some day on the Supreme Court.

It was because I tried law school that I actually stumbled into something real and solid and actually pretty much exactly me!

Compliance is the word. A strong, solid, real word. A word that means something. A word that you can get your teeth into. A word that comes straight to the point.

And that point is doing the right thing. Keeping people on the right track. Keeping people on the right side of the law. Keeping people safe.

The deeper I poked around at the topic of compliance, the better I liked it. A field where I could help people, help companies, help everyone. It sounded like me – who I was and who I wanted to be. It was a job that helped keep everyone – from janitors to board members on the right track.

The more I learned about compliance – corporate compliance – the better I felt about it, about studying it, about working in it, about becoming strong and solid in it.

It’s where I fit in just right. Where I can help others, protect others, guide others. It’s work that matters, work that’s making a difference in a good way, work that I can feel like I fit right in.

Compliance matters. To me. To my coworkers, to my bosses, to our customers, to our board of directors. Compliance makes a real difference in this world of ours, and I’m glad to be part of it. In a way I’m a super hero, and that is so great.

© 2024 K. Leet

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These are stories (usually fictional, but not always), based on insights and experiences from the world of compliance & ethics.