The Confrontation

It's funny -- there's what you think about while you're lying awake in bed at night, as i have done many times, reconfiguring the scene in your head, just what you're going to tell them, just how you're going to say it, just how you're going to answer the questions of why and when -- and then there's what actually comes out of your mouth when you're sitting face to face with them in the moment.

Today, i gave my notice. And the conversation with the pres was great. They always are. I went in to his office, and we looked at each other for a couple seconds, waiting for the first person to say something. And then i said, matter of factly, "well, you know that company that i met with last week? I'm taking their offer. It was amazing. I'll be able to start taking classes this fall. And that's what i've been wanting for the past year, is to get my life on the road this fall, however i do it." He said, "Congratulations. That's really great. I'll really miss you, but i'm happy for you." And that's pretty much how it went. I didn't have to answer any of the hard questions, because he already knew all of them. He said things like, "well, it's going to be hard," and i said things like, "Please let me know how i can be helpful because i want to help wrap things up as cleanly as possible," and i didn't even have to address anything about how i don't want to end up like Sally or Kim whose lives have been taken over by Global, because he already knew all of those things. And he didn't try to talk me out of it. Our conversation ended with, "Well, it's ok. It'll be hard because everyone loves you, and everyone will still love you, we'll just have to learn how to deal in a different way than we were planning on. But i understand that you're young and you need to get your life in a forward-moving direction, and you can't do that here." We were both very sympathetic to one another. And the rest of the day was much less tense after that.

These kinds of conversations are exactly what made it so hard for me to think about leaving that place. But at least i know that i always have friends there.