On Quitting My Job

Via

The day after Easter, I woke up in a funk. Actually, it was more than a funk. It was a full-blown panic attack. For whatever reason, I woke up that morning and it felt like someone was screaming at me to look at my current career, and pursue the one I'd been obsessing over on and off for years.

I've always wanted to be a professional writer in some capacity, but as college graduation loomed two years ago, I looked into possibly doing some freelance writing. Really, I was lost and willing to look at any avenue. But I forgot about freelance writing and decided to accept a corporate job with a real estate company.

After four days, I quit that job with its toxic work environment and went back to my old internship. I figured this would last a couple months, through the summer. It lasted 8 months. During that time I decided to look into some freelance work again. Over 8 months, I didn't land a single freelancing gig. So when I got hired at my last job, that all fell by the wayside.

A little over six months into that job, freelance writing started haunting me again. I would go on long morning drives before work, mulling over my future and whether could work in cubicles for the rest of my life. I woke up well before my alarm every day on steamy August mornings to drive and drive and ask myself that if I wasn't happy with my career, what would it take to fix it?

I was at that job for a year when another company approached me about a position at their company. I accepted that position this past winter. And that is where I was when I woke up one morning practically in a frenzy to get out. It was then I decided to really, really look at my life and my options, and figure out what was next.

It wasn't the jobs, necessarily; it was the fact that even though I knew where I wanted to go with my career, I wasn't going there.

I knew it was finally time to act. I got serious about making my life what I wanted it to be. I set goals. I researched. I listened to motivational speeches. And in less than two months of frantic planning and searching, I put in my notice at work.

It's amazing that I spent 8 months looking for freelance jobs with no results, but as soon as I got serious about what I wanted to do, I took action sooner than planned. My original plan was to leave my job in October. But several opportunities came together at once, and I knew it was time to go.

Now it has been one month on my own. It's a struggle, for sure. But it's the right struggle. It's a daily battle of doing enough, marketing enough, planning for the future and cringing at my bank account, but still waking up every single day with optimism and excitement for the day ahead. That never happened at work before. And it really is an amazing feeling.

I think the craziest part is that this doesn't feel crazy. It feels absolutely natural, like of course this was supposed to happen at this time. That isn't always the case. Other jobs or opportunities have felt completely wrong to me, deep down. My gut was right every time. But I'm grateful for all of them, because I learned great tips, hard lessons and basic business skills.

I can't wait to document my successes and failures here, and to answer any of your questions! Anyone else trying to do something similar? What's your dream job?