The first time I drafted a resignation letter, I stared for more than a freaking hour at a blank MS Word page. Knowing myself, I planned on writing something dramatic, and ending it with a bang. But I ended up searching Google for a sample resignation letter format, something more direct, since no one would really care anyway.
Poignancy hits me nowadays seeing a lot of good friends leaving my workplace. I think to myself, “That was me, almost 3 years ago.” I suddenly miss those days of stress and transition, the exciting thought of starting anew, and the wave of relief when you finally get your last pay. Seeing people leave can be a bit sad. Yes, it's only a “bit” now, because I've gradually been numbed over time.
When I was younger I used to believe that the relationships I have built in my workplace would be the only thing that would hold me. You can’t blame me, my first officemates were all warm and cool at the same time (shameless shout-out to my EA and FGI friends out there), and we had a lot of ideals and hobbies in common. But people grow, and so do our dreams. It was painful to let go of 3 and a half years of good memories, but we all come to a point of decision --- and I decided to move out where I know it’s not going to be comfortable. One by one, we did. And to this day we honored an unwritten promise --- no excuses, and no turning back.
This time though, I’m the one who’s being left. But I know I understand things better now, and perhaps I owe it to that part of my past. Now I know why the people I left cared the least. They probably were happy, and we have different priorities anyway. Plus, they were stable enough to not let anybody else's decisions affect theirs. And I understand why some younger people would react like it’s the end of the world when their friends leave too. I used to think the same, but I always remind myself that though making friends is part of what we gain, that’s not the reason why we go to work.
People get used to ways, to habits, to people, and then the daily routine eventually becomes a system. When something suddenly changes, that’s when our system gets a glitch. And when we can’t cope with change, that’s when we lose. It’s ok to miss a lot of things --- besides the people, sales meetings, field work and stressful phone calls, I still miss the EDSA traffic and anniversary sales. Believe me, I still could not memorize my new pay dates (yes I know, that sucks), and there are Mondays when I wake up worrying if I left the logbook with the Warehouse. Then I realize, it’s been 3 years and I now have a new set of worries to attend to. When I wake up to those kind of days, I just smile, and then go back to living in the present. It's your journey so you have all the control over the steering wheel. If you keep looking at your rear view, holding on to the past, you won't see the astounding beauty ahead of you.
Time permits us to handle things differently, including change. We experience similar situations, but in different perspectives, thus we approach them differently too. And if we just allow ourselves to grow and accept certain inalienable truths, there’s no need for unnecessary drama. But it will all happen over time. That’s why all I can say is, it sure feels good to be older. #
