Bourne originally pursued a path in dentistry, studying to be a dentist assistant immediately after high school, but eventually dropped out and moved to Vancouver to try acting. "I remember watching movie trailers in my dorm room, and I just decided I was going to act," Bourne told The Pop Culture Principle. "It was like a two-second decision, and I decided to be impulsive, drop out of school, and pursue this career that I don't know anything about."

Before dropping out, Bourne had been reflecting on what would make her the happiest, and she kept coming back to her memories of acting in high school plays and partaking in other creative outlets like painting. Originally, she said she didn't consider acting as a career simply because she didn't believe it was feasible. The change in perspective came suddenly, and once she booked her first role in "Psych," her career began to grow.