Quitting My Job To Pursue My Dream

After nearly two years at my job, I finally decided to quit. Leaving a steady job can be extremely scary and nerve wracking, but it can also be very rewarding. For the past two years I had worked a manual labor job in a seat manufacturing plant. To say I was fond of this occupation would’ve been a lie, but let’s be honest it paid fairly well. The work I performed was not particularly challenging for me, but I certainly never enjoyed my job.

The reason I made the choice to finally quit was much more than just a lack of enjoyment though. I was recently pregnant for the first time, and for those who may not know pregnancy is very physically demanding. My pregnancy wasn’t particularly hard on me especially not compared to the stories I heard from other women. Sure I had some back and side pain, but I never had any major issues that prevented me from working. I worked 8 to 10 hours a day standing on my feet the entirety of that time and operating machinery all day up to my maternity leave. My maternity started only two days prior to the birth of my daughter. At the point when I reached 37 weeks pregnant, I began getting very tired at work.

At this time everything began going downhill at my workplace. It kicked off when my significant other left the company; he had been working there for nearly three years. My significant other provided my transportation to work as I didn’t drive, and we only had one vehicle. After him leaving the job, the company decided he was no longer allowed on company property. This meant that he had to drop me off at the guard shack which was roughly a quarter mile from the entrance to the building. We had tried to explain to the security that I was eight months pregnant, and their response was “I don’t care”. I had even gone to management to see if there was anything that they could do, alas they said they couldn’t do anything to help as it was company policy. It was rough walking the distance to the building in hundred degree heat as a pregnant woman. Although this was a horrible situation what made it even worse was how my male coworkers treated me. Being now nine months pregnant, it would seem fairly obvious that I would get tired and worn out easily. However it wasn’t obvious to many of my exclusively male cohorts. On a daily basis I would receive comments along the lines of “why are you tired”, “no one else is tired”, “it’s not even the first break yet why are you yawning”, and “why do you keep resting”. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I’d had enough of this, and I made the decision that enough was enough. Working for a company that not only didn’t value me as an employee but also viewed me as easily replaceable made me dread going to my job.

During my time off for maternity leave, I made the decision to begin job hunting. I was lucky enough to receive a job offer for a work from home position. I was overjoyed although the job was slightly lower paying. This was just what I had been looking for; a job that would give me more freedom to also work on my career as a freelance writer. Quitting my factory job to become a writer once seemed a daunting and scary proposition, but now it is an exciting new journey. I look forward to waking up everyday to write and login to my online job. I highly suggest that anyone stuck in a job that they hate should do the same. Don’t spend so much of your life doing something you don’t enjoy.