The Last Day Has Arrived

Today I turn in my badge and walk away from a ten year career with my company. What started as 'just a job for two years' somehow turned into a 'day in day out' that lasted through the years and here is where the story ends. Today, May 27th 2016, will be my last day at Verizon.

I joined the company with a resume employees would laugh at now. My only experience was with an administrative job and I was only a year out of college. Gigs, metadata, Cable labs, mezz files and xmls were words I'd never heard of,  but I learned and studied and learned and here I am today with ten years of media experience. Four managers later and I am the senior member on my team. I've had hats in business intelligence, media operations, content and production and been the self appointed social and 'fun' chair on all my teams.

My pink cubicle is no more and all of my Cowboys paraphernalia has been boxed up or bestowed on other fans and friends. My laptop has been wiped clean of all Pinky and my desk phone no longer has the funny Pinky name a coworker gave it. Snuggies, blankets, snacks and coffee has been packed up and I even found an old CAT5 wire in a drawer from strike training so many years ago.

Career is a word I use lightly as I never wanted a career here. There was too much time behind a computer screen and not enough out in a field working with people. Hopefully my next job will bring a lil more people interaction, but who really knows what the future will bring. I'm thankful for my time here, despite the major ups and downs, this job has been very good to me. I've been able to take mission trips [seven] and travel twice a month for kickball tournaments. Everyone on my team was so kind when I got engaged and so incredibly supportive the month of my wedding. Sick days have never been questioned and working remotely when needed created a unique sense of appreciation.

Yesterday was a crazy day and one that had me nostalgic. I completed my exit interview and leaving the room everything really felt final. This is the end. We had a big team fun day yesterday [kind of cool how that coincided with my last week] and our team played in a kickball game. If I weren't leaving I would have bailed on the game and playing because I'm not really a 'hangout with work people outside the office'. Man am I glad I allowed myself to be talked into playing this time because it was a lot of fun. We didn't win, lost by one, but our team did a great job for having maybe four athletes out there. I enjoyed myself more than expected and actually played really well myself [guest played on another team after our game]. Walking away from the field I honestly felt sad this was the last game I'd participate in with my team.

I am so thankful for my experiences the past ten years. I've been lucky enough to be part of a growing media environment, where every year something new has come from part of our bigger team. Job security has never been a worry as my niche was perfectly carved out in the new and old production.  While there wasn't as much growth as expected, I did gain new responsibilities here and there to keep from staying stagnant.

The nostalgia may be heavy, yet I know in my heart it is time to move on from this job. There are other avenues I hope to pursue and other mountains to possibly climb. The risk right now is big but I believe the reward will be even bigger. So, thank you, Verizon. Thank you for a decade of growth, possibility and knowledge. I go forward smarter and more aware than when I arrived and I plan to use everything I learned in my new adventure.

**linking up  Here  here , here, here and, this week**