Tuesday, December 30, 2014

A Very Important Announcement

I know I still have to finish up my London travelogue, and post photos from Christmas, and I will get to that soon, I promise, but in the meantime there's something else that has been a major theme in our lives for the past few weeks.

On December 10, I gave notice at my job, and my last day of work was December 24.

I know, pretty major, right?

While this news in and of itself is a big announcement, the truly exciting piece of the puzzle is that not only did I quit my job, but I have retired entirely from my career in corporate communications, something I've been doing in one form or another since graduating from college in 2000.

Now, you might be wondering why any sane person would not only quit their job, but also choose to leave their career behind when it's really the only thing they've ever done. And you'd be right to ask what kind of a cottonheadedninnymuggins would do something so seemingly irresponsible. Well, I'm here to tell you that I'm the type of cottonheadedninnymuggins who would do something so drastic. Of course, I couldn't do it on my own. I have a lot of support from Alan, and I'm reminded once again how happy I am to have met him nearly 19 years ago.

So, what am I going to be doing with my time?

I'm going to write.

I feel like I need to say that again.

I AM GOING TO WRITE.

Yup, now I've gone and done it.

Ever since I was a little girl I always wanted to be a published author, and now I am well and truly pursuing that dream. For more than a decade, I've spent my days putting words into other people's mouths, and being published under a name not my own. From radio commercials, to magazine articles, to executive speeches, I've been steadily employed doing what I thought I always wanted to do, but for the past couple of years my excitement over having achieved the career goals I had set out for myself when we moved to the Bay Area had begun to wane, and I had lost any joy in writing. Mostly because - I think - the words weren't for me. They were always for someone else, about something I didn't necessarily care about.

And then I had my surgery and I was confined to the couch for a long period of time. I watched a lot of TV, and read a lot of books, and eventually I started writing again, getting back into a novel I'd first started in 2008. With the help of a friend I met via the blogosphere who was in the process of writing her own first novel (which has subsequently been published and is available on Amazon), I rediscovered joy in the written word and in those two months I added nearly 40,000 words to what I'd already written but hadn't touched for over a year.

And now I am going to focus, full time, on finishing what I started, and when I am done, I will start another book, and then another, and another. I have it in me, I just needed the time and space to make it happen. That time is now.

7 comments:

  1. Congrats girl!!!! I wish you all the best!

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  2. Becky, Such exciting news. I've enjoyed your writing in the form of blog posts and journal entries for many years. I wish you success and contentment as you pursue this in a more focused manner. Looking forward to the next big announcement when you share that you will be published. :)

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  3. Thank you so much for the kind words Aida.

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  4. so exciting! And so much braver than I!
    Congratulations on going after what you want with enthusiasm.

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  5. Congratulations! I'm kinda in awe of you - having the gumption to chuck it and follow your dreams is something we should all aspire to.

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  6. Thanks so much! I couldn't do it without Alan's support, so for that I am forever grateful.

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