In 2000, while in my senior year of college, I somehow managed to secure my first paid commission. This is probably standard fare for graphic design students, but I was an Electrical Engineering major, and the concept was truly novel.
You mean people would pay for something I was doing for fun?
Turns out, sometimes, they will.
So, for $300, I designed a logo for a property management business in Northern California called WMC.
Twelve years later, its nice to be able to say that I have improved. But I still see the spark of inspiration in that earlier work which helped me on my path today.