Today is my last day at the law firm. I’m not quite sure it has hit me yet – but I’m sure it will by the end of the day today, and next week when I don’t have to wake up and get myself to work downtown. (And I’m sure it will especially hit me when I stop seeing that regular income every Friday morning automatically deposited into my bank account! haha…)
But in all seriousness, as I’ve said before – working there, for these great people, with these amazing co-workers (that I consider to be family to me)… was absolutely one of the main reasons I am where I am today. I had the support of a lot of people behind me. People who knew I was chasing a dream outside of that office – and somehow – they were okay with that. It is a really rare thing to have that kind of support (especially from bosses) who know you are on your way out the door some day. People who know that they are investing time and money into someone who eventually plans to leave. But they did it anyway, and I will never forget that.
As you all know, not every day was roses and tulips. It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t always fun. I had some incredibly tough days there – and lots of stress. But through all of that – it was still an amazing place to work, and I feel blessed to have spent the last (almost) 6 years of my life there, with those people.
When I started working there I was a lost 24-year-old photography student in a big, new city looking for a part-time job to help pay the bills while I was in school. Now (somehow), I’m a 30-year-old, full-time photographer running my own business. It is crazy to me! I went through my share of boy drama in that time… They saw me have my heart broken, they heard about James during the early days of my meeting him. They cheered me on when we got engaged, threw me a party, and gave us champagne glasses off our registry (our first wedding gifts). They drove over 4 hours up to Wisconsin to attend our wedding and celebrate with us. They told their friends and family about my photography business and hired me to photograph themselves and their children. They were super excited for me when CBS news came to film me in the office. They’ve been with me through it all.
So today won’t be easy… today I say goodbye to the place (& people) I’ve called home for 40 hours a week during almost my entire time here in Chicago.
And while it will be incredibly difficult saying goodbye – I’m ready to take the next step. I’m ready to embrace whatever life brings next.
. . . . . .
*Above is a shot of my desk at the end of the day yesterday – after I cleaned off all the personal photos and things that have stacked up over the years. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it this empty… very weird!
