"Someday" is Today — I'm Off to See the World

Today is my last day of work.

I quietly turned in my letter of resignation on November 1st. The reason?

I'm going to travel the world for the next year.

Here's why.



I'm so thrilled to finally share this news! The road leading to this moment has been incredibly emotional, often in unexpected ways.

I cried when I made the decision to quit my job.

I cried when I told my boss I was quitting my job.

I cried when my boss told all my coworkers I was quitting my job.

Change is difficult, and yet I am so, so happy and certain this is right for me.

Goodbye, cubicle. {Decor: Holstee Manifesto}

I'm not leaving right away; I plan to spend December and January in Seattle doing the following:

• Getting used to being unemployed
• Spending time with my family for the holidays
• Sorting through and getting rid of 99% of my stuff, including my car
• Figuring out how to pack my life into a backpack
• Deciding where I want to go and what I want to do for the next year
• Blogging about it all!

In February 2012, I'll take off on a great adventure. I think I'll start out in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and from there? Well, I'll just head wherever I feel like going. I'm in no hurry.

And I'll keep on blogging from wherever I wander.

I'll write more in the coming days and weeks about what ultimately led to this big decision, including how I can afford to take off without working for a year (hint: I lived fairly frugally and saved a lot).

I'm still incredibly overwhelmed that this is actually happening. I'm also flying to Las Vegas and running my first marathon this weekend, which is absolutely insane.

For now, I just want to say: LIFE IS SHORT. My decision finally came down to what I can and can't get back.

• If I quit my job and lose my income, can I ever get a job and an income back? Yes.
• If I stay with my job and spend the next year of my life feeling miserable, can I ever get that year back? No.

When my granddad died in September, I thought about the last in-person conversation we had and how he fervently urged me to travel. I bet I could have named just about any dream to him and he would have told me to go for it.

I imagine that, at the end of his life, he looked back and wondered why anyone would waste even a moment of precious time doing anything but.

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