Why I Quit

I think I left a bit of a cliffhanger as far as the whole putting-in-my-two-weeks-and-leaving-my-job thing goes.

It was halfway a whimsical decision, but at the same time, I've been looking for other opportunities for several months for a number of reasons. I don't want to publicly denounce my employer; my decision to leave the office was based more on my personal values and the vision of what I hope to accomplish in my life . . . and the fact that there is, literally, no sunshine in this facility. I can't seem to dismiss the fact that I'm working in a recovered bowling alley—in the most endearing way.

I think I'm an artist at heart, one of your mostly left-brained/creative kind of people. So it's been almost torturous for me to sit still at a desk in an office in a gray box with no windows doing the same kind of task over and over again with limited communication with my coworkers or the outside world. I've been mostly editing instead of writing web content, and over time, the balance of editing vs. writing has not been in writing's favor.

As some of you know, I worked at McDonald's over the summer as sort of an ethnological study, and I wrote a little bit about it. It's funny that the pros and cons of working at McDonald's haven't much differed from the pros and cons of working in this particular office—at least for me. Okay, so my feet don't hurt, and people aren't as rude to me.

But the nature of my work is similar in so many ways. It's about production, numbers, and getting through as many edits during the day as possible. Short lunch, short breaks, and lots of menial tasks. My hourly wage (not including bonuses/commission, thankfully) was actually only $0.30 more than my minimum wage at McDonald's in California—is that wild?

So I'm demoting myself. I'm going outsource to write for the company on contract. I guess technically I'm not quitting the company completely, but officially I am to become a contracted writer. One of many things for which I am particularly grateful to my current employer is that they're extending me the opportunity to work outsource. It's much harder to make your way in from an outsource position than to go outsource from within.

So I'll be working for the company from home. I'll be my own boss—yes! I can write from home or from a grassy knoll or from Hawaii or Timbuktu and pick up as many accounts as I'm up to, and pursue other creative ventures—like writing my own projects/books (cross your fingers), picking up more music students and the occasional session gig, and preparing for my first EVER bass recital at the end of the summer—if I don't chicken out (also cross your fingers, and your neighbors' fingers, and your friends' fingers).

I'm just not the type to work for the Man—at least not now. I need some sense of freedom balanced with the appropriate amount of work so that when those ideas come, I have a little leeway and time to work with them.

So here are my plans:

• SEE the sun.
• Write, by George, write!
• Freelance as an outsource writer for this company
• Find more students and teach music lessons
• Brush up on the guitar and get ready to busk at the SLC Farmer's Market
• Prepare for my very first classical bass recital
• Do what I love . . . and not worry so much about the money.

In times like these, with the economics the way they are, I know it may seem crazy to quit my job and pursue a life as an artist/musician/writer. But if it's a question of being true to myself, I'd rather take a pay cut doing something I feel passionate about than selling my soul for precisely 8 hours per day doing something that feels like the belittlement of what I have to offer the world. Life is too short to spend so many hours and days and years doing things that don't ring true with you.

I am young. I continue my discovery.

So that's it. This Friday is my last day. And then I'm free. So if you need a good meal, a friend to talk to, a babysitter, a story, a painting, a song, or walk in the woods—just give me a buzz, because I'm going to have time for you now.