Quitting my first full-time job
Wow. Yep, there it is.
I’ve officially left COWGIRL and True West after almost two years. It doesn’t feel real just yet; I’m still running out my two weeks. The magazines and everyone that I’ve met through them have all changed my life for the better. Besides getting a rare amount of experience for a first job (trade shows, rodeos, awards, on-camera interviews, print layouts, article writing…all for a national magazine), I got to know some amazing, talented people and explore a niche industry that was totally new to me.
Most of my friends in Phoenix are the ones that I’ve met through my job, and if it weren’t for my co-worker Jenna, I wouldn’t have met my now boyfriend.
I’m from Buffalo, New York. I went to my first rodeo last year, and had essentially no idea what was happening. Yet, I became the Digital Marketing Manager/Fashion Editor for a women’s western magazine. Since then, I’ve worn cowboy boots, riding jeans, and Charlie 1 Horse hats (sometimes all at once) and have styled fashion shoots targeted at western women. Literally, who knew?
It’s been a wonderfully exciting challenge for me to step into someone else’s boots and learn the ropes of the western way of life. If you’re unfamiliar, it’s a whole different world. From types of apparel to how you style it, to new vocabulary lists and cowboy hollers, to horses and tack and everything in between…I can say I know more than I ever thought I would as a New Yorker.
After much, much thought, I phoned my boss on Slack and let him know I’d be departing. I was worried; I’d never quit anything before. He said the best thing he could have: “I’m disappointed, but I’m happy you’re moving on in your career and I know you’ll be successful.” What a statement. I’m sure most quitting stories don’t end that way. I’m thankful.
With some hard conversations behind me, I’m anxiously awaiting my first day at my new company. I see happiness, serenity, and clarity on the horizon with my new career—half-freelancer half-operations and marketing assistant.
As I walk forward, I still glance back, and maybe I always will. My first job out of college. My first full-time job. My first office job. Where I fell in love with styling. Where I walked onstage at RFD-TV’s The American. Where I met my best friends and boyfriend. Where I interviewed executives, covered rodeos, and had my work printed in a national magazine just two years out of college. I don’t know where I would be without Modern West Media, and thankfully, I’ll never have to find out.
