After 13 years, my last piece of equipment was picked up from my doorstep by FedEx on Friday. I have no access anymore to the company I was told I was part of the “family.” It is surreal. I am both happy and sad.

Sad because I am leaving a company that I was deeply in love with who did not live up to my expectations. While the slogans kept telling me that I am part of the “XYZ Family,” the actions made me feel like a distant cousin. I fell in love with the common purpose, the people and the drive to make an impact. My heart was broken when I matured and took off my rose color glasses to take a hard look and find that truly, the emperor has no clothes. Reality. I leave with the hope (and maybe naiveté) that all those long days, weekends and dedication had some impact and meaning. I am sad about all the wasted hours spent on filling out meaningless templates and plans that were never excuted because of lack of vision or resources.

I am happy because I had the courage to take control of my life. I saw the writing on the wall and it took a really bad flight experience for me to wake up and ask myself “is it worth it?” And the answer was a resounding: No.

Onwards.

And yes, I will be writing and sharing a lot more now that the strings have been cut.