A choice: Leaving the office
Writing has always been a passion of mine.
In middle school, my parents gifted me my own computer so I could do school work - instead I’d stay up at night writing stories. It was something I was told would be a pipe dream - something I’d never be able to pay the bills with. Poor, struggling creative work.
So when it came time to choosing a college, I went into a field that I knew I’d make money - information technology. I’d never taken apart a computer before, didn’t build my own gaming PC, I didn’t even game. In all of my classes, I was behind the curve and one of the only women in the class.
But that’s a story for another post.
Revisiting that decision.
In 2020, I was working in Human Resources as a HRIS Manager. I had two teams reporting into me. Then COVID-19 hit. My team was furloughed, I took over their work and had to manage the same workload with a team of two. Needless to say, I switched jobs in 2021. And switched jobs again. I’d done a lot of self-reflection in the year and a half. Although the money was good, the work I was doing wasn’t a passion of mine. I needed more.
But what was next?
I’d asked myself this question so many times over the years since I’d graduated from college. What did I want to do? I’d been in HR and IT. I’d worked in custom software development and with pre-built systems. I’d been a help desk technician. I’d been a product/project manager. I’d jumped into different jobs hoping to find the spark of joy I’d been missing. It wasn’t until 2021 that I came to terms with why the spark was missing. Go back to what you loved growing up. For me, that was writing, crafting stories and characters.
Commit, commit, commit, and then move forward.
So at the end of 2021 I made the decision to jump ship and leave the corporate world. My husband and I stashed money away in our savings for an emergency fund, paid off our mortgage, and student loans. I needed this to feel secure about living on one income for a while.
As of February 2022, I’ve been focusing full time on my dream.
Being a full time author.
