Freedom

It has been almost a year since I have posted here.  I have toyed with the idea of a few other blogs, but I am always thinking of things that fit here.  Today, I am inspired to write again because for the past two months I have experienced freedom.  I left my big law firm job on February 12 and I have not looked back for one single minute.  I knew I felt trapped. I knew I hated billable hours and I knew that I was completely over the political crap, but I really had no idea just how stifled and just how miserable I truly was.  Let me make a disclaimer here - I really like almost all of the people I worked with at my firm.  They are great lawyers and more importantly, great people.  I even liked the work - at least 50% of the time.  And I was pretty good at it.  But the environment, for me, was just toxic.  I have told several people, since starting my new job, that I feel like I left an abusive relationship.  First, I had convinced myself that, if I was paid a certain salary, the tradoff was that I had to be miserable.  It was just a fact of life that came with the paycheck.  I now know that's not true.  I took a very small pay cut for my current job and I am not miserable.  In fact, I really, really like the job. That doesn't mean it isn't hard or stressful or that I don't work a lot, but I like it.  I feel respected and valued and even if  had taken a large pay decrease, that would be worth it.  Second, I have been in the job for two months and in the past few days, I have just stopped walking around on eggshells waiting for something bad to happen - waiting to discover what I hate, what is going to make me miserable.  And I don't think it's there.  Again, it's not perfect, because no job is, but it's just so very, very different.  I feel free.