Two Weeks

Have you ever waited for something for so, so long?

Maybe you spent weeks, months, or even years wishing, hoping, dreaming, and imagining; and then, one day, out of the blue, your fantasy became a reality. And at that point, when you could first see it or smell it or touch it or taste it, you couldn’t even react. You couldn’t respond to your senses because you didn’t quite trust them. This had never been reality; this scene had only ever played out in your mind, but now you were really living it.

I felt that way when I submitted my two-week notice at the bank yesterday.

Yes, I’d been waiting for this day for quite some time and had even practiced my resignation speech (more than once). It’s not that the bank is a bad place; it simply isn’t the right place for me, and I’d been looking for a way out for a long, long time. But, partially due to the downturn of the economy and partially (ok, mostly) due to my lack of clarity regarding what I wanted to do, I felt stuck where I was. For the past two years, I have felt like I’m walking a path that’s leading me nowhere.

But finally, I came to a fork in my road. I took a chance and seized a new opportunity. After all this time, I would finally be able to move on from the bank. So I wrote my resignation letter over the weekend, and yesterday was the day I chose to play out the scene I’d watched so many times in my head.

But as I drove myself to work in the morning, I felt a wave of fear wash over me. “What would I have to be afraid of?” I asked myself. The easy answer seemed to be change; but I have been searching for this change for a long time, and I welcome it. No, I wasn’t afraid of change. Was I afraid of the reaction I’d get from my manager and coworkers? I was pretty confident they would be supportive, so I didn’t think that made a lot of sense either.

I thought and thought and thought about this, as I made that hour-long commute. And as I pulled into the parking lot for the tenth to last time ever (sorry, I have a countdown going), it hit me that I was afraid it wasn’t real. I was afraid that, after so much time of wishing, hoping, dreaming, and imagining, this couldn’t possibly be happening.

But it was happening. It did happen.

I submitted my resignation letter and two-week notice to my manager, who then made an announcement to the other five employees at our branch. As I had predicted, they were incredibly supportive. And as I mentioned already, I’m thrilled for this change.

My last day at the bank is June 17. I will then be taking a little time off to enjoy a relaxing summer and get married! And in the fall, I will begin working as a high school chemistry teacher at Grandview Preparatory School, right here in Boca.

There are certainly challenges ahead, but none that I do not believe I can handle, none so great as being stuck on a path that I know is going nowhere, and none so shocking as the realization that a dream has finally come true.