8 Years Ago I Quit the Job I Loved — Because of One Day

How I navigated an unwanted pivot and why I’ve never looked back

In the spring of 2015, one month after finding out I was pregnant with my third child, I quit the job that I loved.

I was working as a Digital Creative Director for a large travel brand— making $104k/year, commuting almost 4hrs a day, and working over 40hrs/week in a beige cubicle with no windows.

I drank breakfast in my car while sitting in Miami traffic, ate lunch of last night’s leftovers at my desk while staring at a computer, and never got home in time to eat dinner with my family (let alone make it for them).

You could say I was living the corporate dream.

Despite all these perks, I absolutely loved working there. I loved the people I worked with. I loved the complicated problems I got to solve every day with design. I loved working in the industry I was in. I even loved my bosses.

It was the first place I’d worked in my career where I felt my opinion actually mattered. My guidance was sought after and valued by my team and other stakeholders.

I didn’t have to have the loudest voice in the room and I wasn’t expected to go to happy hour…