Friday, August 28, 2009

Moving On But Not Away

Today is my last day at SB. I'm not sure if you're supposed to feel busy on your last day at work, but I certainly do. I have a feature story to write. My office needs to be packed. I need to download all the stuff on my computer onto a portable hard drive. And I'm going to lunch with the staff in a little over an hour. I'm thinking I'll eat Shrimp Aurora. Why not indulge on my final day?

I've been at SB a little less than a year. At the time, I was looking to get out of the newspaper world. For personal reasons more than professional ones. I loved my job. I hope one day to love a job as much as I loved that one. But I didn't want to be my job, and it felt that's what the job required.

So, I came to SB. I moved up the food chain, becoming the editor here, and the magazine began to morph into whatever I could dream it to be. I love to create and those days were very exciting. Mike (the publisher) and I would go to the park at Norton Art Gallery and brainstorm and plan and think. And then we brought it to life. A new look. A new way of telling stories. An attempt at reaching a new audience while captivating the one we already had. In any job, I'm most satisfied when I can see the results of hard, honest work. And at that time, I did.

But I began to ask myself, "Am I doing anything new? Am I challenging myself?" If I was being honest with myself, although this was exciting, it was nothing new. I'd done this before with the Preview section at The Times. It felt stagnant and I needed a new challenge.

There's no question that I love Shreveport. I love having my family close and, truthfully, if I were going to move, I'd probably have to stuff Ty into a suitcase and force him to come along. And I'd never want to go anywhere without him. My life is here, and I wouldn't want to share it with anyone else.

So, as I considered my official settling in (although I've actually been settled here my entire life), I began to realize my options were running low. I've worked at The Times and SB. I wasn't interested in TV about two years ago when I was approached, not interested now. I get very awkward in front of a camera. What could I do that would allow me to create, write, meet new people and be successful in Shreveport-Bossier?

Marketing seemed to afford me those opportunities. I applied for a job and heard nothing. ... for a while. Weeks went by, and at the moment it began to slip from my mind, my phone rang. I went on an interview and loved the people and the place. Absolutely worth the 30 minute drive to and from work every day.

I can work hard, but I can't take credit for the right decisions at the right time. Never so strongly have I felt God's hand in my life. Opportunities coming at the right time. Doors closing and others opening. The timing is so perfect that it could never be my own.

5 comments:

Kate said...

Please don't leave my yearbook at SB! I had lost it for 7 years and don't want to lose it again :) Yay for the new beginning!

Stephanie Jordan said...

Your yearbook is tucked safely in my box of things to take with me. Of course, I would never mistreat a yearbook!!

Tracy said...

Congratulations on the new job! You will like Minden. My uncle lives there. It's the greatest of small towns.

Lindsey said...

Congrats on the new job! Can't wait to read all about it.

Stephanie Jordan said...

Sorry for the lack of blogging. Once I get settled in, I'll be up and running again.