When I told people I was leaving my job, everyone assumed I was going to another architecture firm. Why would anyone assume differently? After all, I just painstakingly finally got my architecture license! But when I tell people I wasn't going to do architecture anymore and become a personal assistant, they all seemed genuinely supportive and didn't try to convince me otherwise. This was surprising since my own first thought was whether I would be wasting all the years and effort I spent to get where I am in my career. Perhaps everyone just thought it. After all, what kind of person would tell you that choosing family over career is a terrible idea. Spoke too soon. Enter stage right, my dependable parents who did not wonder this at all and just said it straight to my face.
I can always depend on my parents to tell me what they think of my life choices... it's brutal but it's honest. In the end, they understood and accepted my decision. Especially since they know this particular decision is only to benefit my new boss, whom, having only interacted with him a handful of times, they have deep affections for already.
What I didn't tell them or anyone else so far (first time here!) was that I didn't make this decision for my new boss' benefit. I did it for ME.
I'm not a career driven person. For me, my job has always just been a job. Something that I do which I'm good at, and try to get better at each day, and provides the funds and flexibility to sustain my life outside of the job. I could be at any job and would feel the same way.
While not career driven, I am goal driven. I set a goal and I always accomplish it or else I won't make it a goal. So getting my architecture license was always a goal. It wasn't a means to get somewhere in my career. It was a goal I set for myself 13 years ago and then I did it. And now that I have it, I have no idea what to do with it.
What I do know was that after 13 years of doing pretty much the same thing at my job, I was tired, bored and honestly, wasn't becoming a better person. I had become a bitter, sometimes angry and lifeless person. I didn't always show it but I felt it. Perhaps purely a symptom of getting older but still, I didn't like who I had become.
When I looked out into the world of other architecture and project management jobs, I just saw the same thing. I knew I needed something different. Something that would challenge me to become a better person. But I had no idea what that would be and never quite had the time to figure it out. So I set out to do something that I never thought I would do. I quit. I left my safe, comfortable job with no paying job on the other side. Really, I just wanted to take a break and have the time and space to walk and talk with the Lord. With a full-time job, marriage and child, I had given zero time to the One who has great plans for me.
So yes, I quit my job for me. It just happens that my new boss was desperate for a new personal assistant and I was highly recommended. His old assistant was doing a pretty good job but the boss wanted me from the very beginning and the moment he saw I was free, he snatched me up and would not let go until I said yes. Actually he still won't let go, he's got quite the grip... Don't feel bad for the previous guy, I hear he's got a pretty good gig drawing pandas and such, which apparently he was doing on the side all along.
Being a personal assistant isn't something I ever imagined I would do. I always saw myself in the professional world. But while I'm taking time off to explore what's next, I figured I have time to try this out. Mind you, this is still a full-time job and requires quite a bit of mental, emotional and physical capacity but the fact that I have time to blog already tells me that I'm getting time and rest that I didn't have before. Each day, as the boss and I explore the world and get to spend meaningful time with new people, I hope I will get to see what God has set before me to do, perhaps not a new career but hopefully some new goals to reach for.
I can always depend on my parents to tell me what they think of my life choices... it's brutal but it's honest. In the end, they understood and accepted my decision. Especially since they know this particular decision is only to benefit my new boss, whom, having only interacted with him a handful of times, they have deep affections for already.
What I didn't tell them or anyone else so far (first time here!) was that I didn't make this decision for my new boss' benefit. I did it for ME.
I'm not a career driven person. For me, my job has always just been a job. Something that I do which I'm good at, and try to get better at each day, and provides the funds and flexibility to sustain my life outside of the job. I could be at any job and would feel the same way.
While not career driven, I am goal driven. I set a goal and I always accomplish it or else I won't make it a goal. So getting my architecture license was always a goal. It wasn't a means to get somewhere in my career. It was a goal I set for myself 13 years ago and then I did it. And now that I have it, I have no idea what to do with it.
What I do know was that after 13 years of doing pretty much the same thing at my job, I was tired, bored and honestly, wasn't becoming a better person. I had become a bitter, sometimes angry and lifeless person. I didn't always show it but I felt it. Perhaps purely a symptom of getting older but still, I didn't like who I had become.
When I looked out into the world of other architecture and project management jobs, I just saw the same thing. I knew I needed something different. Something that would challenge me to become a better person. But I had no idea what that would be and never quite had the time to figure it out. So I set out to do something that I never thought I would do. I quit. I left my safe, comfortable job with no paying job on the other side. Really, I just wanted to take a break and have the time and space to walk and talk with the Lord. With a full-time job, marriage and child, I had given zero time to the One who has great plans for me.
So yes, I quit my job for me. It just happens that my new boss was desperate for a new personal assistant and I was highly recommended. His old assistant was doing a pretty good job but the boss wanted me from the very beginning and the moment he saw I was free, he snatched me up and would not let go until I said yes. Actually he still won't let go, he's got quite the grip... Don't feel bad for the previous guy, I hear he's got a pretty good gig drawing pandas and such, which apparently he was doing on the side all along.
Being a personal assistant isn't something I ever imagined I would do. I always saw myself in the professional world. But while I'm taking time off to explore what's next, I figured I have time to try this out. Mind you, this is still a full-time job and requires quite a bit of mental, emotional and physical capacity but the fact that I have time to blog already tells me that I'm getting time and rest that I didn't have before. Each day, as the boss and I explore the world and get to spend meaningful time with new people, I hope I will get to see what God has set before me to do, perhaps not a new career but hopefully some new goals to reach for.
OMG. I'm actually so f*cking proud of you right now. I'm beyond words (I hope profanity is allowed here... too late). Did you know that "Personal Assistant" also means something different in the healthcare world? For a moment, I thought you were switching jobs to be a professional ass-wiper. Then again... YOU ARE. My boo-boo is so lucky to have you.
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