I’ve already taken a pretty big risk. Last year I quit my job of 19 years, right on the eve of a sizable promotion. I was already the interim principal, sorry, “acting administrator”. Couldn’t use the word “principal” in my title until I had my masters degree. To become the actual principal, without the temporary title, complete with the hefty pay raise, all I had to do was say yes. But I didn’t. I said no. And walked away. As Birdie put it in “You’ve Got Mail”, I marched into the unknown armed with nothing. Like Kathleen Kelly though, I had a little money saved. To continue the scene, I indeed dared to imagine I could have a different life.
Now I do. It was a massive risk. A scary one. And it paid off.
I’d actually like to do it again. I’ve been on vacation since last Thursday. I go back to work this Thursday. Over my time off, I’ve gotten to do a lot of writing. Like, a lot. I even downloaded the Substack app so I could begin building my following there. Apparently that’s where publishers and literary agents look to see how big your platform is. It’s also where you can gain paid subscribers. That’s a really awesome possibility.
But that takes time. I created a writing schedule for myself last night to keep up with what I’m writing and on what platform, in addition to working on my book and other shorter pieces that I’d like to submit for publication. From looking at the schedule I created, it’s easy to see that I need time to do all of this each day. I’ve learned that it’s tough getting in that much time when the work schedule has me getting home at 5 every day.
I would ultimately love to take the risk of quitting my job again. I want to devote my time to really trying to build this writing career. I haven’t been able to because unlike the first time I quit my job, I don’t have much money saved. I haven’t been actively saving money either because I keep spending money on tattoos. I don’t regret them, but they are expensive and there’s not much money left to put in savings afterwards.
My supervisor at work joked with me once on a particularly frustrating day. She said, “please don’t quit yet”. I told her she doesn’t have to worry about me quitting until I stop getting tattoos. When I stop asking for time off for tattoo appointments, she’ll know it’s because I’m saving money for my exit plan. With my most recent tattoo, I requested the time off by telling her it’s for an “I’m-not-quitting-yet” appointment. She understood.
According to my retirement account, I can retire in 20 something years. I’ll be in my 60s then. Every time I see my retirement statement, I immediately think, “F that!” I’m not waiting that long. I’m really not. It may not be much of a “risk” if I’m financially prepared to quit my job, and I’ll make sure I have a good writing momentum going before I do, but I am absolutely going to do it. In the words of Lin Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton–“Just you wait”.
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