Secret Agent Man

When I was in college, I decided I wanted to be a CIA agent. Seriously!! Inspired by Julia Stiles' character in the Bourne movies, I was going to be stationed in Moscow as an undercover ballerina. Just think of all the amazing gadgets they could hide in a tutu and pointe shoes!! Never mind that I didn't speak Russian. Or can't bluff without giggling. I wanted to be an analyst a la Jack Ryan - the kind of agent that put the pieces of the puzzle together but never really had to wield a weapon.

I was pretty intent on it too. I even went so far as to download an application which in college is fairly proactive. I talked to a few family friends about their experiences and where they thought I might fight in. They didn't seem as interested in my classical ballet training as I had hoped but my uncle was convinced he could get me into the Navy's special operations unit. It didn't hold the same glamour that the CIA did though.

After further investigation of the agency's application I decided to put it off for a little while. I was afraid that "I have a face that would let me get away with anything" wasn't a strong enough platform for my candidacy. I continued to toy with the idea for another year or so but a lack of finances forced me to push up my graduation date and I was overwhelmed with school work.

Then 9/11 happened. The CIA has been flooded with applications ever since. Damn terrorists killed my dream!! Russia's safe...for now.