I did it! I quit corporate America!! With some money saved from living in my van, the stress of the situation I was working in, and one final moment that made me lose my cool, I found myself firing off the “…resignation. Effective immediately” email. My mother’s cousin, who is getting older, had been asking me when I was coming to visit. Now is as good a time as any! Our time is not guaranteed on this planet, so we need to make the most of it! Once I’m through visiting and feel ready to go, I plan to head to Oregon and find work and community out there. I’m looking for my tribe.

I started working Saturdays at the salon my sister worked at when I was 14 years old. I kept that job, and when I got old enough to work in our local drug store, I did that, always keeping the hair salon for cash. Retail stores and a chiropractic office had known me for a little bit until I found myself sitting at a desk in a retail store instead of behind the register. I loved it! I loved my little space and phone. I loved rearranging the stapler and calendar. I loved checking my emails in the morning and getting my tasks done. Setting up photos and plants that I loved made it My Desk, and when that season ended after 11 years and I found myself doing hair full time (by now, I had acquired my license) I yearned for the stability that I thought an office job would afford me. The vacation time, the benefits, the steady amount of money each week so you could budget out your month. The cash from the salon was great, and I realized that all my experience didn’t provide letters after my name. The way people hired had changed, and unless I knew someone, I wasn’t going to get hired in my field. The algorithms wouldn’t even show my resume to potential jobs despite the longevity of my employment. I kept doing hair, making that cash, but was grateful the day my friend re-introduced me into the corporate world.

I didn’t stay there for long, but was once again introduced to another company, one that came with high praises from someone who worked there. I was hired as an office assistant and quickly gained rank as they recognized my potential. I learned quickly that they owned apartment buildings, and a few months in heard whispers of the word slumlord from other co-workers nearby. They treated the corporate staff as family, though. Honestly, more than just pizza parties! Very generous bosses who showed recognition with parties, gifts, raises, bonuses. I felt as though I hit the jackpot. Within the first 5 years, the accounting department, which had absorbed me, had begun to lose people. Instead of replacing them, the properties they had were dispersed among the remaining employees. While that seemed fine and innocent enough in the beginning, it was a sign that we remaining 4 had missed.

As generous as they were and as nice as the salary I received sounded, I was unable to afford an apartment or buy a house on my own comfortably without a second salary. The nature of my work seemed to ensure that was going to happen! Corporate real estate companies are buying up apartment buildings, mobile homes, and now even private homes and HOA’s. I was contributing to my own problem every day! My micro department went from 3 to me after the quarantine of 2020, and while my bosses felt like buying more and more properties over the past 5 years, I felt like I couldn’t keep up with all the work and was snapping at my co-workers daily. I had already saved up a decent amount of money when another snap happened. I informed them that I was going to take the next day off as a mental health day, and since it was a Friday, I had all weekend to think about everything.

Monday morning was a 30″ snow storm, and as per usual, they didn’t close the office. Others could work from home. Even when I had a home, I could not, as the nature of my job, cutting physical checks, getting them signed and mailing them, required me to be in the office. They weren’t cruel and would have paid me anyway had I said, “No, I couldn’t come in on this terrible snowy day.” I live in my van now, though, and was able to make it into the office. I was the only one there as I collected my personal belongings from the desk and sent the email telling them that I was no longer going to work there. The texts and phone calls came in shortly and I felt good after talking to the HR woman who told me that “No one can deny that you are a hard worker” and “Call us if you need anything.” To me, that sounded as though we didn’t leave it on a bad note even without any notice, and it made me feel a little better about it. My supervisor admitted to me that I was going to actually get written up for snapping at my co-worker, which really cemented my decision. You see, this co-worker was condescending and snapped at me first. I just gave it back. He even apologized after! So I was going to get written up because in the corporate world, you are supposed to just take it. I could take it no more.

My mother’s cousin is getting older and has been asking when I am going to visit. I called them up and made plans for a road trip, and Rex is more than welcome as they are animal lovers. I’m not sure when I’ll be finished down there or where exactly I’ll be going when I leave their house, but Oregon and the Pacific Northwest has been calling me. People who know me and have been to that area have told me that it’s just my vibe and that I would fit in nicely there. I don’t know where I will work, but I do know that I need to find something that doesn’t hurt my soul. Wish me luck as I take this step into my new adventure!