I recently gave my resignation letter after a year and 10 months of working somewhere I thought I could progress in while continuing to serve the community. This did not turn out to be the case, hence my departure, but after going through the process of attaining a new position, I realized I wasted a lot of time telling myself otherwise.

I began to think of what could’ve been had I better communicated things with my employer and vice versa about what more I could do to move up the ladder. Or if my crappy tendencies, being late for example, was the big reason why, until I just stopped and asked myself, “would I have been happy if I did stick around and get a better position in the same place?” The answer was no. Despite the pay, the people, and the positivity I felt producing jobs and school opportunities for underprivileged youth in the projects, I realized that for me personally, it just wasn’t enough and that wasn’t a bad thing.

When your job is to help others, you might feel shitty when you realize you want more, despite knowing that those in need seemingly have less in terms of current opportunities. When you’re at a work site filled with afterschool kids that you see every day, despite not working with them, you develop a bond with those little rascals, whether you want to or not. When you’re in an agency with a bunch of different sites and your job allows you to meet so many of them and form solid, professional relationships, it can be a little uncomfortable to tell them you’re out. But at the end of the day, you’re in your own shoes, not theirs, and if you have the opportunity to progress and actually want to, you snag it like it’s your unprotected iPhone about to hit to the ground face first.

I obviously have things that encouraged my departure in the workplace that isn’t necessary to mention because at the end of the day I dealt with it. Just like when you go to the barber, get a bad haircut and still tip the barber, if you accept it, no one will notice you’re disappointed with it. Just like that haircut, you’ll eventually settle on the fact that you’re working where you are, even if you don’t like it. But why? Life is short, and take it from me. I’m not a geezer, but when you take notice of how quickly time flies, you’re going to start looking back at all the shit you could’ve done to fix your situation. So why not just start now?

Take the classes you have to, study the books you need to, watch all the YouTube tutorials in the world, learn all the damn computer languages, pass those annoying tests and get those freaking expensive pieces of paper that say you graduated from wherever you had to, to get that job because it’s worth it. There are so many people who aren’t willing to put in the work, and would rather party and bullshit ‘til they whine about their situation and point fingers at everyone while their thumb is curving back right at them.

I guess I learned the hard way, thinking quick money would lead to progress when I ended up being trapped in the same spot. Though I’m just talking about myself, it happens to a lot of people; if you have to get a crummy job, be aware that it is so, and don’t settle for the check. Get the bag, whether it takes you months or years, if you really want to get a job you’re going to call your career, you’ll do what it takes.

Honestly, if you really do something you love, you pour your mind out on it and don’t wake up thinking, “Ugh, fuck. Should I call off? What would be a good excuse?” You’ll want to do it, and you’ll be content, or happy there. That way, at least work won’t necessarily be one of your problems in life. I’m not saying getting your dream job fixes everything, but it makes one thing less likely to become a problem for you personally. In the words of Tom Petty, “Do something you really like, and hopefully it pays the rent. As far as I'm concerned, that's success.” I couldn’t agree more because I was somewhere where I knew it’d pay more so than if I really liked it, and it sucked. Don’t be me, do you, for you, and don’t settle ‘til you’re happy.