I love you
I love you for all your imperfections. I love you for your crazy mood swings. I love you for your spontaneity and your ability to surprise me time after time. I love you for not knowing who you want to be when you grow up. I love you for the people you introduced to me and the strong connections that remain. I love you for allowing me to be a part of you. I love you.
I forgive you
I forgive you for the long days and nights, even when sometimes they proved to be worthless. I forgive you for the times you just ran out of money and ended up owing me more than you could pay. I forgive you for the numerous options that were never vested. I forgive you for your crazy demands that at times seemed unreasonable. I forgive you for turning your back on me when I needed you most. I forgive you for the promises you never kept. I forgive you.
I thank you
I thank you for allowing me to grow. I thank you for teaching me the difference between what’s important and what’s not. I thank you for showing me how to bootstrap, at work as well as in life. I thank you for pushing me to be more creative and resourceful. I thank you for demanding that I learn in breadth as well as in depth. I thank you for forcing me to truly understand every aspect of what I’m building and more important, for whom. I thank you.
But it’s time
It’s time for me to try something new. It’s time for me to experience some stability, or so I’ve been told. It’s time for me to receive a fair compensation for my knowledge, my professionalism, my time. It’s time for me to live the now, and not a fairytale future. It’s time for me to try that fancy office, instead of a table, a chair, and walls that contain nothing but a whiteboard and sticky notes. It’s time I grow up, even though sometimes I don’t want to. It is time to work on something that will, most likely, be around 5 years from now. It’s time.
So,
It’s with a heavy heart that, after close to 2 decades, I leave you behind and move on to something new. Something bigger.
I know
I know that I will use everything you gave me to keep on pushing those boundaries. I know that I will keep on thinking outside that box, even if some may expect me to stay within those claustrophobic borders. I know that I will stay restless, forcing myself to keep on growing. I know that I will stand my ground, even if more stakeholders are involved. I know that I will stay awake. I know that I will never forget you and I know that someday, we’ll meet again. I know… I hope.
