I can’t dance. And I don’t care.

I looked like a runner who got lost. All lanky and awkward in my running capris and tank. A white girl pretending to have rhythm. But I shook it (or attempted to) for an hour. My hips went one way and my arms went another. I stomped for eight counts 20 times and did this move where it looks like you are walking like a belly dancer with Egyptian arms. And when it was all over, I had fallen in love with Zumba. Me. The girl whose mom enrolled her in beginning tumbling when she was 12 so that she could learn to cartwheel.

Me. In love with a dance class.

And you know what? I fell in love with advertising the same way – by stepping out of my comfort zone and taking a risk. See, I started out as a journalist. That’s what I went to school for after all. I took one class on advertising and hardly paid attention. I didn’t think it was what I wanted to do. I thought it was selling out. I wanted to report the news. To tell the stories of people whose stories needed telling. I wanted a Pulitzer, damn-it. But then after four years of unsuccessful Pulitzer-chasing, I took a chance on a job in advertising. And I fell head-over-heels in love with this crazy industry. The creativity. The strategy. The late nights. The free beer. The deadlines. The new business pitches. The people. I’ve met some of my favorite people in this industry that’s overflowing with talent, passion and drive. And now, six years after breaking on through to the other side, I’ve never looked back.

Some of the best things in life come after taking a risk.

So risk with passion. Take a class. Learn to edit. Brush up on motion design. Experiment with your camera. Start a blog. Try designing something. Hell, go to Zumba. Because you never know where that risk will take you – and your creativity.

Jessi Hamilton's favorite things include words and ideas, bacon and new running shoes. She is currently a senior copywriter at Kuhn & Wittenborn. Before that she was at AdFarm and Barkley, before that VML. And before that, Jessi waded through the waters of journalism. She also blogs, runs half marathons and writes poems and personal essays that make her mom cry.