Every writer’s dream is to quite their “day job,” but I personally love reading about day jobs! Whether it’s an actor-turned-corporate-spy, the unlikely pet euthanasia businessperson, or the late-blooming ironworker, there’s something immensely satisfying about getting an intimate, unexpected look at someone else’s work life. And often, our worst/weirdest/hardest jobs are the funniest ones to write about (even if we need a few years of distance to be able to laugh about them).

This fall, when I ran my first Narratively Academy class on generating inspiration and ideas for memoir via a month’s worth of daily prompts, I loved reading all the responses to the prompt I sent out about jobs. With the next edition of my prompts class just around the corner, I’m sharing an adapted version of that prompt with YOU. Here goes:

Think about your first job. Or your worst job. The one that paid minimum wage. The time you burnt all the hair off your forearms in the pizza oven, or when you threw papers onto lawns before it was light outside. When you had just enough money to pay rent and buy ramen. Where you suffered through terrible bosses and bonded with new best friends. How did this job change you? What stayed with you from this experience? What do you regret or laugh about years later? What will you never be able to laugh about?

Don’t think about this too much; just write. You can write four words or 400 words. Whatever this prompt inspires you to think of, drop your response in the comments. The response that gets the most likes will win a free Narratively tote bag!