I just read an essay written by fashion designer Donna Karan about her first job.

I found the story fascinating, and it got me started thinking about first job experiences.

My first job ever was as a baby sitter. I did a lot of that in my 'tweens. I think I was somewhere between 12 and 14 when I took on my first babysitting job. Early on, began babysitting for a neighbor lady, who lived on the other side of our block. They had two boys, the oldest being 5 years younger than I, the same age as my brother.

Eventually I worked up to watching them for half days, five days a week, for a summer.

My most famous baby sitting experience was for a family who had 4 kids -- three boys who were highly intelligent, fun and entertaining, but quite willing to challenge any sitter's authority -- and a girl who was also bright and quick, but much more manageable.

Their mother knew they were a challenge, and would happily pay double the going rate for anyone who was up to the challenge.

If I told you those boys grew up to become Second City trained comedians, I would not be lying: They were Tom, Kevin and Chris Farley.

At age 15, I graduated from babysitting to clerking in a fun, funky boutique on Madison's State Street.

And my first professional job after college was as a media buyer for an advertising agency. That was a fun job, too. I enjoyed working out the annual advertising budgets for our agency's clients, placing the buys, and assuring that the ads and commercials ran as ordered. One of our clients was Hardee's, and my biggest challenge there was getting the ad slicks and commercial tapes to all of the newspapers and TV stations in time for their deadlines. As this was pre-FedEx, I had to learn a variety of fast ways to get my materials to the media on time. Though it sounds archaic, sometimes the answer was the Greyhound bus!!

One of my favorite parts of that job was meeting and working with the salespeople -- or media reps, as we called them -- who would call on me to "sell" me on why I should use their magazine, radio or TV station. A special perk of the media buyer job is getting taken out to lunch regularly by all of those reps... Yum. And I never had to buy!!

So what was your first job? And what stands out about it for you today?

By the way, here's what Karan said about her first job:

My first job was babysitting. My very first babysitting job, at age 12 (with my Mom's supervision), was for a neighbour, who eventually was my high school science teacher and one of my all-time favourite teachers. The two girls were 3 and 4, and adorable, and I ended up babysitting them on a regular basis for the following five years. One of my favourite aspects of that job was that their Mom almost always made me chocolate chip cookies on the nights I was sitting for them.

My first non-babysitting job was as a cashier at the five-and-dime department store. I really enjoyed that job and the people I was lucky to work with at the time.

At 16, I began working entire summers at a summer church camp for children. That was by far the best job I've ever had in my entire life. I loved everything about it, except the mosquitoes at night. To this day, I often wish I had pursued a career in that, though I still don't know how I could have done so.

Eventually I went to college (worked in a toy store to pay my way through) and got my Early Childhood Education diploma, worked in day care for many years before having my first massive burnout and first episode (of many many to come) of profound clinical depression which forever changed my life and career choices. Back then, nobody hired people with a background in depression/mental illness. But I was lucky to find a wonderful employment agent who found me a job with the federal government, where I stayed for 12 years. Another wonderful job with wonderful people.

I've truly been blessed throughout my life with wonderful people everywhere I worked, though I might not have realized how rare and blessed that was at the time. Looking back makes me both glad and sad, glad for the experiences and people who enriched me beyond measure, sad for all the losses along the way. My depression cost me a lot over the years, especially in friendships. Many friends simply couldn't handle my seemingly endless darkness, and I don't blame them. But I wish they could see me now that I'm out of all of that and thriving.

Anyway, after all of those years of babysitting, nannying and day care, and not having had children of my own, I cannot even imagine myself being able to babysit another child ever now. Though I love to be with them and play and such, I don't have the stamina to look after them anymore on a long-term basis.

I never was a babysitter. My first job was for an accounting firm. I remember having to record all the receipts etc. for a hot dog vendor; all the receipts always smelled of onion!

Yonuh, though I like onions, I am not sure I'd welcome their scent when I was supposed to be focusing on the task at hand...

Eagle Heart, your story brings that of one of my sister-in-law's to mind. She too has held many jobs related to caring for children and can't have any of her own. By training she was a nurse, but after treatment for depression, she's never worked again in that capacity.

I don't know if the depression was brought on by her frustration with infertility, as all of this happened before I met Steve.

But I do know she's turned to her church, and works on a regional level. She also spent some time as a missionary. She started out teaching Sunday School, however, so that goes back to caring for children...

I had long wanted to do some missionary work, but was constantly rejected because of my history of depression. which probably contributed to the growing sense of worthlessness at that time, being unable to find any doors that would open. Now I'm able to channel that hunger to do missionary/humanitarian work in Cuba, and that is where I am most alive nowadays. I have to trust that everything happens for a reason and that doors didn't open back then because they weren't meant to. Now I have the energy, mindset and stamina to do the work, back then, I probably didn't have it. I suffered with fairly debilitating chronic fatigue for close to 30 years - all fixed with my hysterectomy, which has my doctor completely baffled. She thinks now that many of those symptoms - depression, fatigue, etc, could have been hormonal all along. Sad if you think about it too long, which I don't allow myself to think...one could look back and see so much potential wasted, but we can't change history. So I have to see it all as gift, building up all the skills and mindsets that I need now.

Anyway, through it all my faith has been my constant companion and strength...though there have been times when I've walked away from God in anguish and sense of betrayal. Healing keeps happening despite it all, LOL. Now I feel closer than ever to Him, but still can't bring myself to go back to the institutional church. Someday maybe. For now, our work in Cuba is a huge blessing to us.

It's wonderful to hear about your satisfaction with your work in Cuba, Eagle Heart.

I walked away from organized religion and the "institutional church" a bit more than 30 years ago, BTW. We all have our reasons for doing this of course. But I am completely happy with my relationship with God, which has not wavered - and is as strong as ever.

Oh, now and then I do miss the beautiful music and joyful singing at special services like Christmas and Easter. But again, you can get that from other sources.

My first job out of college was working for a local Board of Education. My boss was their Clerk. He looked like Napolean and would raise his voice till the rafters shook. I worked there until I married my first husband. Should've kept the job and forgotten the guy!!! LOL...

I was 16 and it was at a coffee shop..I was fired 3 days later because I was too slow. I didn't understand the double-double and other coffee lingo.

Ya, coffee culture is cultural!

I was never a babysitter outside of home. I am the eldest and was required to look after siblings..Never paid for it.

After university, my first job was at a library on geriatric medicine and gerontology.