So I’ve gotten back from vacation in Emerald Isle, NC, which was a total blast! The down time also allowed me to clear my head and get a more definitive idea of what my next course of action would be. I had been in the running for another full-time position, but didn’t look forward to returning to the daily grind. Instead, I decided, I would find part time work of a similar pay scale and make up the difference with my freelance work and site portfolio.
My s/o has been surprisingly supportive of this turn of events, though technically it would be likely a little less in terms of income than it would be if I accepted another full time job. The feeling of freedom, of choosing where I’ll work and the terms of my employment, has been a great feeling. Having come across a recent post by Phillip Brewer over at Wisebread, I was happy to see there’s others that feel this as well:
“You can choose how you want to live. If you choose to live simply, you gain a certain kind of freedom. In particular, you’re free to choose to do the work that’s the most satisfying, rather than the most lucrative. Choosing to live simply doesn’t mean that you have to give up all the cool stuff you want. It means, rather, that you have to focus on a small number of wants–the ones that matter the most to you.”
Its been an uncertain road so far. Sometimes I feel like I should just head back to full-time work in Finance and take the path of safety, security, and comfort. There’s also the obvious societal/family pressure and expectations that weigh on you as you go as well. I’ve stood by my decision to put these aside, to at the very least try and work for myself while deriving a stable income from part-time work in an industry I like. I’m excited and scared, but I feel better than I would if I didn’t even try.