I Quit!

So in exactly a week I will loading up a UHaul and heading back down to DC to reinvade the nest.

That's right, I quit my job a week ago and decided it was time to pack it up and leave the Big Apple behind. It was a tough decision, one that I know will change my life forever. I mean who leaves the city of dreams, right?? I have no idea whether this move will be for the better or worse but I know it's one I had to make. I have a belief that no one ever achieved greatness by following the rules; well, here I go making my best attempt to capture my greatness.

Moving to New York sort of landed in my lap. I had grown up loving this city and always said I wanted to live here. So when I got the opportunity to interview for an internship at my current company during college I jumped at the chance. After landing the intern position with ease, everything else sort of just fell into place and by October of my senior year in college I knew I would be moving to the city I had always dreamed about. It wasn't until I actually got here that I started feeling like maybe this wasn't where I needed to be afterall. Don't get me wrong, there is no other city in this country and maybe even the world like NYC. The city truly never sleeps and if you're looking for adventure this is the place to be.

But what about when that all gets old? When you no longer care about being able to party until 5 am, when you feel like you're too old to have multiple roommates, and the idea of living above a bodega/gym/bank/etc. for the rest of your life doesn't seem all that appealing? I think this is exactly what happened to me. It was like I woke up one day and came to the conclusion that I wanted so much more for my life than that. I want to get married, have a family, start my own business and have a front and backyard for Christ's sake. And sure I could have all that if I moved to Queens or New Jersey, but why would I really want to do that? That's not why I originally moved here. I ventured here to experience what it really was like to be a New Yorker, not to end up in the outer banks when the city I love started breaking my heart.

When I shared the news that I would be quitting my job and moving away, I got the same question from three different work superiors; "Do you have another job lined up??". And simply the answer is "no". I'm leaving behind a career in which I am gainfully employed, at a time when the economy is recovering about as fast as Whitney is recoverning from crack. Am I crazy? Maybe. But do I regret it yet? No. And hopefully I won't regret it at all. I've decided that I want to be my own boss and take total control over my future. I'm scared and nervous, but there is something inside me that says beyond a shadow of a doubt, I can do this and that I will be successful at it.

Everyone is in your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime and this is the way I look at the past three years I've spent calling New York my home. I know that NYC will continue to be a part of my life, even long after I've passed through the Lincoln Tunnel in that UHaul.