I am happy to report that the day has finally come: today is my first official weekday of unemployment. I have searched through old journals (which I use quite sparingly) to determine when I first started praying about leaving Plant Vogtle, but I cannot find the appropriate reference. I can say with a fair amount of confidence that I first thought of leaving after I had been at the plant for 18-24 months (I started there in September 2000). Before making a whimsical and rash move, I decided to buy a house in Augusta, forcing myself to stick it out at Vogtle for at least 2 more years. I bought the house in the summer of 2002, but my desire to leave never really went away completely. Sometime in 2003, I received some helpful advice from a friend (thank you, Emily) that God does not call us from something but to something. Granted, God would call us away from sin, but I could not claim any such relationship with my work. I still, however, felt that the job left much to be desired in life, so I began to pray that God would call me to something else. Thus began the waiting and praying. Specifically, I desired very much to be drawn to a career that would meet the following goals:
(1) Require less of a commute. I spent roughly 8-10 hours a week in the car driving to and from Vogtle.
(2) Offer flexibility in working hours that could accommodate family life. I do not have a family of my own but would like to, and I did not foresee a positive experience in balancing my future career at Vogtle with a family.
(3) Give me the opportunity to work with and serve people directly.
(4) Provide a skill that I could utilize anywhere in the world for humanitarian and/or mission work.
(5) Spark my passions in a way that would allow me to give myself fully to work and not regret the use of that time for the results produced.
I think this is the first time I have written all those goals out together, but they are really what have driven my desires and prayers through this process. I began during that year (2003) to determine what opportunities were out there in the world that might meet all the goals. I had taken the GRE, as I was considering graduate school in some capacity, so I began to consider entirely new careers in addition to other options within the Chemical Engineering field. With the urging of my best friend (thank you, Julie) I started looking at some programs at Georgia Tech in the rehabilitation engineering realm. While none of those programs particularly struck me as the right one, they did lead me directly to the GT graduate program for Prosthetics and Orthotics. I first came across this option in December of 2003, and the last 2 ½ years have been ultimately leading to today, my first day of unemployment.
While I feel that this move, this career change, is absolutely the right thing for me, I have to believe that staying at Vogtle could just as easily have been the right thing. I prayed that if God desired me to stay here that I would develop a greater passion for Vogtle in order to be willing to sacrifice some of the desires listed above. I would have been happy to stay. But, alas, the doors have opened for me to go, and so I am leaving. I am thankful that the last several weeks have been more confirming for me than confusing. One amazing blessing has been the response of my co-workers, who almost unanimously have been supportive and encouraging as I said my goodbyes. Many of their comments have been extremely touching and have given me a sense that my leaving has been a greater testimony in that place than my time there has been. I regret only that as I left I began to see a few potential relationships, which I did not see before, in which I could have mentored those people in work and life. At this point, I have to trust that I will only have more opportunity for such relationships in my future career.
To wrap up this blog which is about to exceed the blog word limit (I know there is no such thing), I would like to thank God for the fact that I will never again be caught sporting this gear, in this pose, at this place, ever again:
(1) Require less of a commute. I spent roughly 8-10 hours a week in the car driving to and from Vogtle.
(2) Offer flexibility in working hours that could accommodate family life. I do not have a family of my own but would like to, and I did not foresee a positive experience in balancing my future career at Vogtle with a family.
(3) Give me the opportunity to work with and serve people directly.
(4) Provide a skill that I could utilize anywhere in the world for humanitarian and/or mission work.
(5) Spark my passions in a way that would allow me to give myself fully to work and not regret the use of that time for the results produced.
I think this is the first time I have written all those goals out together, but they are really what have driven my desires and prayers through this process. I began during that year (2003) to determine what opportunities were out there in the world that might meet all the goals. I had taken the GRE, as I was considering graduate school in some capacity, so I began to consider entirely new careers in addition to other options within the Chemical Engineering field. With the urging of my best friend (thank you, Julie) I started looking at some programs at Georgia Tech in the rehabilitation engineering realm. While none of those programs particularly struck me as the right one, they did lead me directly to the GT graduate program for Prosthetics and Orthotics. I first came across this option in December of 2003, and the last 2 ½ years have been ultimately leading to today, my first day of unemployment.
While I feel that this move, this career change, is absolutely the right thing for me, I have to believe that staying at Vogtle could just as easily have been the right thing. I prayed that if God desired me to stay here that I would develop a greater passion for Vogtle in order to be willing to sacrifice some of the desires listed above. I would have been happy to stay. But, alas, the doors have opened for me to go, and so I am leaving. I am thankful that the last several weeks have been more confirming for me than confusing. One amazing blessing has been the response of my co-workers, who almost unanimously have been supportive and encouraging as I said my goodbyes. Many of their comments have been extremely touching and have given me a sense that my leaving has been a greater testimony in that place than my time there has been. I regret only that as I left I began to see a few potential relationships, which I did not see before, in which I could have mentored those people in work and life. At this point, I have to trust that I will only have more opportunity for such relationships in my future career.
To wrap up this blog which is about to exceed the blog word limit (I know there is no such thing), I would like to thank God for the fact that I will never again be caught sporting this gear, in this pose, at this place, ever again:
Me as a B.E. (Baby Engineer) - Fall 2000
7 comments:
Wow, those generators weren't the only hot thing at that plant! Looking good, K. Really good. I share your sentiment -- so glad you'll never again have to don that gear.
Thanks... and now that I look at all that crap around my neck, no wonder I have neck problems!
Kristin, After I barked at you yesterday to update your blog, I felt a twinge bit bad...I don't want you to feel like you are letting people (me) down if you can't get in your blog zone as often as you would like. No pressure here. :) BUT, what a great update to follow your drought. I loved reading it. Best of luck and providence :) to you in the ATL. You will be missed.
Don't feel bad Sara... I had intended to update after I finished with that last busy week of work. It was actually kind of nice to know that someone noticed the drought :)
nice picture - i do not miss that look either...
i am excited to hear how you develop in the next phase of your journey...now that God is closing the door on the last one.
I hate to tell you, but I think the geeky (I mean cool) GT students wear their GT ids around their necks. Judging from this pic, I think you will have no problem fitting in. Save your hard hat. You'll need it walking around campus. -B
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