As some of you already know — though many of you don’t — I recently made the very difficult decision to step away from my glorious gig at the big G(oogle). Like, very recently. As in ‘my last day was 8/28’ recently. Yikes.

Let’s be clear. This was not, by any means, one of those dramatic ‘I QUIT’ moments. Sometimes I wish I was that badass. But I’m definitely not. Not even close.

Those of you that really know me, know that I wrestled with this decision for quite awhile. I knew I felt called to pursue a passion in writing. I knew I needed to create real space to do that, not just add it to my ever-growing list of to-do’s. But I did NOT know how to go about actually making that change. I mean, come on! How do you ever really know if it’s the right time to pull the plug on something that has been so great for so long? How do you feel okay about leaping from something so wonderfully certain to something so wildly uncertain?

Well. It ain’t easy, y’all. And I don’t have any silver-bullet advice other than to say that at some point, you just know.

For all intents and purposes, choosing to leave Google was much more like a bittersweet break-up than a gnarly divorce. Truly. Google and I spent 4.5 amazing years together and my life’s course will be forever changed because of my time there. I’ve grown personally and professionally at Google in more ways than I can count. I’ve. learned. so. much. And I’m walking away with a rolodex of wonderfully wacky and whip-smart colleagues, many of whom I’ve come to call my very best friends. You characters know who you are.

Sure, there were tough times, too. I can’t say that I never shed stress-induced tears. My bad. But I can honestly say that I would not change a thing.

As I walk away from the safe-and-soundness of the corporate world and dive into the deep belly of the unknown, I’ll hold tight to a few key lessons from my time at Google like white-on-rice:

1. People matter. So do deadlines. In that order.
2. Everyone has something to teach. Never stop being a student.
3. The world is a big place. Challenge yourself to get outside of your bubble.
4. The Google Drive App Suite is legit. Use it for everything.
5. Never. say. never.

Peace for now, Googs! Is it weird to say I love you?

Until we meet again,
(Girl) Sam