Lawyer quits with artistic departure memo

Photo credit: Departurememo.com

Ever feel that your job is holding you back from what you truly want to do in life? Then you should read this creative departure memo that a New York City lawyer wrote when she quit her job at a law firm to become an illustrator:

My life in law (a short story)

As is fitting for an illustrator, this former lawyer’s departure memo is filled with beautifully drawn illustrations that show the stress and unhappiness that her job as a lawyer caused her. These pictures also illustrate her struggle to be an artist in her spare time when her job was constantly demanding her attention.

In an interview with Yahoo Shine, she explains the mentality behind her career change: “I started asking myself, ‘when I’m thirty years older, what do I want to be able to say I’ve done with my life?’ and I realized that going for it and failing would make me feel better than living in fear of not succeeding.”

Last year, I wrote a post about four established professionals who felt unhappy in their careers and chose to leave their jobs for a different field. As difficult as it was for them to leave their familiar roles behind and venture into unfamiliar territory, they all ended up finding happiness in their new careers.

Changing careers is difficult and scary: it’s hard to give up a thriving career (even one that you’re unhappy with) for a different career where you’re totally unproven and have to start all over again. But these stories prove that changing your career can be done and that it can lead to happiness and success.