Monday 2/23 was my last day at IBM. While it is a very strange feeling to leave a company I’ve worked for since I was literally a teenager, there is no doubt in my mind that it is for the best.
A few years ago, when I was traveling and studying Spanish in Costa Rica (at the Costa Rican Language Academy pictured to the left), I met a guy who made quite an impression on me. He was one of the students at the spanish school — and one of the few (like me) who was not in their late teens or early 20s. This fellow and I spent a lot of time together and I haven’t forgotten his story.
As the Chief Information Officer for the online portion of a national magazine, my friend was doing quite well in the corporate world. But one day he woke up and decided it just wasn’t worth it. He was in his early 30′s, working every day in a job he felt didn’t matter. He resigned his position and set off to travel Asia. After a year in Asia he was now covering Central America. After a year of travel, he had used only a few thousand dollars and had created some lifelong memories. Would he have been better off staying with his corporate job and foregoing the adventure? No way!
To that point, Katie and I are so excited about the adventures that lay ahead of us and the timing in our lives couldn’t have been any better! We have nothing tying us down and now we have no reason not to use this time in our lives to create some travel memories we’ll never forget. Afterall, you only live once. So thanks to IBM for the opportunity to start this new adventure.