The evening I got back from Asheville, I opened a particularly design-y bottle of cabernet, and poured myself a big, fat glass. I told myself I couldn't drink it until afterwards. Micah was making us dinner, and blessedly ignoring my pacing and general spaced-out edginess. I stepped out into the backyard to spare him further craziness, and paced a little more. I told myself I couldn't go back in until afterwards. I felt a few raindrops - and was secretly glad Mother Nature was calling me out on my procrastination.
I called my creative director, and told him I was quitting.
That might sound overly dramatic. But it was, for me, at the time. I've only had one job since I graduated from college, and this was it. It's all I know. It's where I learned to appreciate the finer points of print and audio and television production. It's where I discovered a knack and a passion for writing. It's where I quickly came to understand the value of strategy and research behind creative - the function before the form. It's where I spent six years of my life.
So why am I leaving?
Because I'm starting to figure out what I want my life to look like - in the grand scheme of things, and in the day-to-day sense. I'm also starting to figure out what I'm good at, and what I want to do with those skills - the kinds of people I want to help, the kind of impact I want to have. And it's just not possible with the job I'm currently at. It was a strange realization to come to, because it's so intangible. I wasn't necessarily unhappy, per se, but I knew I could be happier. And once I knew I could be happier, it was impossible to not start dreaming, and scheming, and reaching.
Next Friday is my last day as Senior Art Director at Third Degree Advertising. It'll be a half-day: I'm going out to one last lunch with my co-workers, and then I have a massage scheduled that afternoon. In the coming weeks I'll delve more into what I'll be doing professionally, as well as the amazing impact it will have on my personal life and day-to-day schedule. Total dreamings - none of which would be possible without Katheen's permission to think big, and Micah's support, which he offered fully and without reservation, even before I had any sort of plan.
Cheers: to change, and growth, and the future (and Fridays! because it's Friday).