Hate the game, not the players

 It's been a year now since I left Expedia, a company I really loved working for, to pursue my second career and dream of becoming a writer.  I often think about my time with Expedia, having spent about five years there.  I also often think about the people I worked with and how much I miss many of them.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't go back in time and change the decision I made.  I am glad to have moved onto my second career and to be doing something I absolutely love.  However, that doesn't mean I don't miss my former life with this company and the people that frequented it.

You see, being in the field of human resources wears on you.  I mean REALLY wears on you.  Not the kind of wear you might expect from an old pair of jeans.  The kind of wear you expect from being drug behind a car racing down the freeway at sixty plus miles an hour.  Sorry for the graphic description, but it's a stressful job where you're often under a rather large microscope under an even larger spotlight.  Sizzle, little ants, sizzle!

I digress.  My story when I left was mainly about how I was changing careers and how excited I was about the new stage in my life.  Here we are, a year later, and I feel as if I should be a little more honest about the decision.  Don't get me wrong, I definitely would have still made the same decision.  However, it may have been delayed had I not gotten sick of Playing The Game.  In truth, I was really starting to Hate The Game or to the layperson, hate the field of HR and much of the politics that unfortunately came with it.  I certainly did not hate the players because most of the people I worked with I had really formed a bond with and leaving was a sad affair. 

I live with the fact that I didn't reach three goals I had set for myself while in that field:  be a leader of a team, be in a high level role (Director or above), and make more money than my husband.  But, I wasn't about to turn my back on my feelings about The Game in order to reach those goals because let's be honest, while I became increasingly incensed about The Game, I would move farther away from those goals anyway.  Plus, I had this whole other life I needed to live before digging myself deeper into the abyss with a field I despised.

So, here I am...a year later and truly enjoying being a writer.  Sure, I don't make the kind of money I used to (not even close by a long shot) and I don't get to see my friends at work every day, but it's been worth it.  I just want (or need?) my former friends at work to know I think about and miss them... and often.  I didn't leave because I Hated The Players.  I Hated The Game.