Goodbye P.P.A

24th May, 2025

P.P.A Melbourne, Australia

To whom it may concern - yeah, you, that's right, you! You being me!

RE: RESIGNATION

I hereby resign from my position as Senior People Pleaser of the P.P.A (People Pleasers of Australia, if not the world, possibly the universe).

For thirty plus years, I have had a stellar career as a P.P; first entering the industry as a trainee P.P. in the late 80's, wanting desperately for the other kids at the high school that I attended to like me.

Like all P.P's, I already knew that I was somewhat different to others. My personality type was that of what's commonly known as the, "Black Sheep." I was an unusual child and I already knew that being so different wasn't cool; and I wanted to be cool. But I was a timid, nervous child, full of anxiety and fear. I'd be so scared to interact with others, I'd nearly P.P'd my pants! Sorry, a little light P.P. humour there - I know that reading this letter is hard.

Whilst in training, I learned a lot in the first couple of years. I began my P.P. journey by simply observing. Observing others and how they interacted with each other; their likes and dislikes. From there, I began to lose myself by mimicking others. Speaking, dressing, and digging the same things as those that I was drawn to the most; the ones of whom I thought were cool. The need to belong took hold quickly, so much so that I didn't even notice what I was doing.

I had a natural ability towards P.Ping. My talent for it meant that I was able to advance quickly. I went from observer of the group(s) to the "in" crowd and from there, it was all about making the others of the said group(s) happy so as to ensure my security within. If any one of those kids needed or wanted something, I would do everything in my power to make it happen for them. Sadly, what they mostly wanted was a Court Jester. Someone that they kept around for some comic relief; to make them feel better about themselves. It should be pointed out here, that it wasn't entirely their fault for making me this character. In fact, it was really me who created it and allowing them to treat me that way. I never put a stop to it and in fact, I just didn't know or realise that that's what was happening at the time.

That was high school, then later throughout college, etc.

As time went on, my career in P.Ping continued to grow and develop within the workforce. Advancement again happened quickly. I soon became a "Yes" person; almost never saying no to the point that that word was (nearly) no longer a part on my workforce vocabulary.

Being a “Yes” person was rewarding. Pay rises and promotions were aplenty and this showed me that whatever I was doing at the time was working, so naturally, I kept it up, because not only did it show me that I was becoming a success, I was becoming well liked by others. But of course, this also meant that the various bosses that I had over the years could take advantage. Again, this was not entirely their doing. P.Ping was so ingrained within me, I allowed it to happen. They could take advantage because I let them. I was P.ping all over the place!

Burnout was inevitable. The hours I kept to keep up with the work, the imbalance between work and life became the norm; never being able to switch off and have any sort of downtime was how life was.

This is what I thought I needed to be for half my life - all just to be liked by others. It seems ridiculous, I know, but it truly was what I thought I, (and others like me) needed to do to be kicking goals in life.

In the end, these experiences lead me to more unhappiness rather than to what I really wanted more than anything in the world - to be happy with myself; hence my resignation today.

So now it’s time. The realisation I have finally made after decades of work towards my career as a People Pleaser now means that I happily stand down.

I will not be handing the reins over to anyone. The Senior P.P position ends here, as does my P.P. legacy. I can only hope that my resignation may help other P.P’ers to also draw their journey’s to a close.

As per my contract, I am not required to give any notice, and as such, my resignation will take effect immediately.

I wish to thank you, yeah you, for giving me the opportunity to join your team, if nothing else, but to learn the lessons that I’ve needed to, and I wish you nothing but hope and happiness in the future.

In short, bugger off, P.P.A!

Sincerely, Jess Boyes