Dearest Career:
This is the hardest letter I’ve ever written. I’m leaving you for another livelihood; I have decided to become a real estate agent.
Our time together has been wonderful. Sitting at a desk, sliding paper from “in” to “out” boxes taught me about precision and responsibility. Showing up at nine each morning and leaving at five made my life secure and predictable. Sure, the routine was mind-numbing at times. But I needed to learn that life isn’t always chips and salsa, sometimes it’s just Brussels sprouts.
But now it’s time for us to part. It’s not that you aren’t a terrific career for some lucky gal; it’s just that I’m not in love with you anymore…maybe I never was.
I hate to be cruel, but you’re suffocating me. I can’t breathe, and not just because the office windows can’t open and let in fresh air. Doing the same thing, with the same people, day in and day out has stifled my talents and prevented me from growing as a person.
So I’m leaving you for a career that fulfills my needs and desires better. I’m becoming a real estate agent.
I swear, I never expected to fall in love with real estate. It started innocently enough, just a few drinks with realtor friends, talking casually about buying and selling homes. But soon, I felt a thrill thinking about matching the right house to the right buyer. I fantasized about being my own boss, setting my own hours, earning as much as my energy and imagination would allow.
I know starting over will be hard. Pricing properties, figuring interest rates, developing repeat business is a challenge. But challenges are good, right? Staying in a stale career isn’t fair to you or me.
By the time you read this, I will have packed my ficus plant in a cardboard box and moved on. I’ll always remember the good times— lunch in my cubicle, birthday cakes every Friday, discussing “Mad Men” around the cooler.
You’ll forever have a special place in my heart. You were my first job, and no one ever forgets her first.
I hope we can still be friends. Please remember me fondly…when you put your house on the market.
Goodbye,
Lisa
Lisa Kaplan Gordon is a builder of luxury housing and an award-winning writer specializing in home improvement and real estate topics. She lives in McLean, Virginia.
