It’s okay to quit your job.
For many of us, the job we do in college is not the one we want to do forever. It makes sense to quit your job when one chapter closes and you are ready to move to the next. What about when you aren’t even sure how this chapter ends?
I found myself recently quitting a job I had for four years, abruptly and in the middle of a pandemic. The decision I made was not an easy one at all, nor was it a part of my plan. A lot of people look at work as a chore. How does that saying go- “Do what you love?” What about when you’re a broke college student with limited experiences and you lack the qualifications? What job do you do then?
Bartending seemed like the right gig for me at the time but, I knew for a while I was ready to move on from my job. I had seen waves of employees come in and out during my time. I wanted to hold on to my job simply because I was good at it and I was comfortable. I didn’t realize at the time how detrimental it was to my mental health until I finally quit.
I was young and naive and I thought my loyalty to the business was more important than my happiness. I begin to resent my job so much. I had given up so many things and missed so many other opportunities because I wanted to be loyal. When my boss looked to me, I couldn’t say no. I would hate to believe that he knew this and took full advantage of it, but eventually I was pushed to my breaking point. I was juggling school, two jobs, an internship and a personal life during a global pandemic. When I finally pulled the plug, it wasn’t pretty.
I certainly didn’t leave the way I had envisioned. I wish I could go back and tell seventeen year old me that there would be other jobs but there wouldn’t be another go around at college. As I sit back and think about all the dinners I missed, the assignments I turned in late, and all of the moments I can never have back because I was too loyal, I know that it was the right choice to leave. I know I am not the first under appreciated employee to quit their job, but hind sight is twenty-twenty.
I’m not sure what I was so afraid of – the uncertainty maybe. Will I be able to pay my rent? Will I find another job? Will they replace me? Will they miss me? What was this all for? I don’t have the answers to all of these, but I do know that I am better off now and I wish someone had told me a year ago that it was okay to quit my job.