After having to leave the job I loved for five years, due to you bully of a manager, I did not think it was possible to believe in myself.

I was so angry and puzzled that you could dismiss all of my hard work and try to push me out just for your own pleasure. Now I see that while I may never truly understand this behavior, I will be grateful for it.

Thank you former egomaniac manager, you pushed me out and right into my goals.

If it were not for you terrible manager, I would still be going through the same monotonous routine, putting my coffee-stained khaki pants on one leg at a time. I would be writing names on cups and be totally bored, unhappy, yet in an odd way content.

For so long I worked hard and gave a job I enjoyed my blood, sweat, and tears.

Then you showed up and decided to wash away any and all effort I put in as if I had achieved nothing the past five years of my career. You left me utterly confused. How could someone who had gotten a promotion each year for five years all of a sudden be deemed useless to a workplace?

Curled up in a ball I questioned everything.

Was there something I could have possibly done to salvage this career I had worked so hard for? Did I not have what it takes to work in the retail world? Had I simply been lied to the past 5 years, is that the work I put in was just subpar, not up and beyond like I had been told? Were all the friends I made and connections I built along the way just pity friendships and conversations? Was I just no good at what I was doing and they had no clue how to let me down? I racked my brain in agony over all these questions and more for months to come.

Then one day all the questions started to stop.

One by one, they crept out of my mind. I had simply been in a job for half a decade simply because it was comfortable, and yes I really was good at it. I started to realize even more that I was given an opportunity to challenge myself and step out of this comfort zone I became so cozy in. Now was the time to look at those goals and dreams I put on the back burner and ask myself why can I not do these things again?

You see, former boss, your loss is my gain.

For some unbeknownst to me reason you wanted me out of your story by any means necessary, and I took that decision very hard. While it crushed me, it also brought me to a realization that it may not be too late for me to crawl out of my comfort zone and go after the dreams I once had of being a writer and voice over artist. You lost a valuable employee and I gained a new found confidence.

Yes, I have a new monotonous job now where vegetable codes are ingrained in my brain and asking someone if they have a rewards card is akin to introducing myself. I would most certainly say I am not very happy there, yet I find myself saying that these merry-go-round jobs will not last forever.

While you are still certainly not my favorite person, I do have to thank you.

You let me go into a world where I was scared to venture off into, but now I see this world is so much more then grinding coffee and stocking shelves. Thank you for kicking me out the doors and straight into this empowering confidence where my long lost goals do not seem so far off after all.