Today was my last day at my job and I start my new job tomorrow. The last couple of weeks have been hectic since I finally gave notice after knowing for quite a while that I would leave in August. I held out as long as possible in the hopes that they might finally review my job description and give me a retroactive raise (although this possibility had been mentioned earlier in the year, it finally became clear that it wasn't going to happen soon enough for me to benefit). I am sad to leave my wonderful colleagues and the exciting mission-driven work they do.
During the last two years there, I've fluctuated between feelings of awe at how many different people I get to work with and feeling unnecessarily isolated and unsupported. But what is clear now that I'm leaving is that I worked with and/or got to know a LOT of people around here.
My boss organized a terrific going away party for me and I was floored by how many people showed up. She said such kind things with specific examples of my work and ways in which I went above and beyond. Another person who spoke appreciated my uncommon perspective in our organization and the other praised the relationship I've built with a partner organization. My boss said that hiring me was the best thing she'd done in her time there, and perhaps in her entire career. I hope that one day I can be as good of a boss to someone else as she has been to me.
It is also immensely gratifying to look back at what I helped do in just over two years. Especially this year, I played a crucial role in a huge project that was a near-perfect fit for me. Somewhere I read the tip to make an email label called "feel good' that you use when people say nice things that make you feel good about your work. I just went through all of my "feel good" tags to transfer them to my personal email and it's so rewarding to be reminded of the outcomes of my work.
Now begins a new and very different chapter. But who know, maybe I'll be back there later. Time will tell!
