I recently made a hard career decision—I’m leaving my job. No, that’s not a typo. And since this is my last blog article as a Creative Energy copywriter, I’d better make it a good one.

For a little over eight years, I’ve been growing my antlers as a Jackalope. In fact, they were growing before that mythical creature even became associated with the agency. In 2013, not even a year out of college, I began working for Creative Energy. And it wasn’t long before “working for” turned into “working with.” If you don’t understand the significance of that distinction, you haven’t been working with the right kind of people. As I grew to know my colleagues, we learned to move in lockstep. This collaboration produced memorable campaigns, forged some of my dearest friendships, earned us heaps of awards, and helped to bring exciting new clients into the fold.

It’s been an experience with many highlights, and leaving isn’t easy. Then again, it never is when there’s no bad blood paving the way. But change is inevitable, and I found myself inexplicably being pulled in another direction. Can you relate? Maybe you’ve already left your job and are on the hunt, or you’re still employed and just dipping your toes in the sea of possibilities. Either way, I say go for it. You never know what awesome rabbit hole you’ll find yourself tumbling down. Consider what you might find if you open yourself up to the possibilities:

Love

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “we’re a family” used to describe the culture of some companies. Major red flag, right? Families are great in an ideal world, but we’re born into them—we don’t choose them. Sometimes boundaries are overlooked in family dynamics, and the support in those relationships can be taken for granted. Well, don’t worry. I don’t consider us a family here. We’ve actually chosen to work together and have immense respect and appreciation for one another. Sure, there’s lots to love about the work, clients, and awards, but it’s the people who have kept me around for nearly a decade. The Jackalopes will always have a piece of my heart.

Wonder

Have you ever been encouraged to pursue wonder-inspiring ideas and had your team support you in this effort—like, genuinely? During my time here, I’ve been involved in numerous projects where I’ve had the creative freedom to develop funny, thoughtful, engaging ideas that challenge the status quo. From working on big, international accounts and national name brands to regional favorites and local start-ups, I’ve had a career full of wonder, and it’s been magical to see pie-in-the-sky ideas come to fruition. Not every workplace has a team—specifically managers—that support the dreamer in you, and even harder to find are open-minded clients who appreciate the value in those wonder-filled ideas. Here I found both.

Humility

In the midst of waxing poetic, I’d be remiss to not recognize the growing pains I experienced during my early years as a Jackalope. Show me a creative person without an ego, and I’ll venture to ask, are you sure they’re a creative? As I grew my antlers here, I butted heads a time or two as creatives often do. But unlike in some unstable workplaces where your livelihood might be threatened, I encountered patience and was given the time to grow. As I matured, I learned the importance of staying humble, and through experiences with my colleagues, my ego was tamed, and I recognized the value of embracing a team mentality. This helped the quality of my work and professional relationships, as well as spurred growth and awareness in my personal life. I’m on a much different path than I was at the start of my career, and that is to the credit of humility.

Intuition

Guess what?—I started my career at Creative Energy as a graphic designer, not a copywriter. My first project was editing a series of recipe cards in InDesign, and I had no idea what I was doing. My program experience was limited but I learned quickly. Learning has been a consistent aspect of my time here and was the key force behind my progression from graphic designer to art director to copywriter. All the knowledge I’ve gathered through the years has helped me use programs to their full potential and exercise industry best practices, but it’s also had a huge impact on the confidence in my craft and intuition. The exchange of knowledge within this company allows people to better understand the industry and target audiences, honing intuition accuracy. The development of this skill is incredibly valuable no matter where your career takes you.

Courage

Love, wonder, humility, and intuition all ladder into building courage. With love comes support, wonder breeds possibility, humility keeps you grounded, and intuition builds your confidence. All of these things are necessary to have courage and conviction in what you pursue. During my time here, I’ve broached hard topics for the sake of love, presented wild and wonderful ideas with the support of my creative directors, owned my shortcomings, and followed my intuition fearlessly. Every experience here has gone towards filling my cup with courage, and if it weren’t for that courage I wouldn’t have felt empowered to continue on my career journey.

Sometimes the people and experiences that grow to mean so much to you are the very things that prepare you for the next chapter. Life’s funny like that and has a way of taking you places you never would have expected. Maybe your next place is here, nestled among the mountains with the outstanding flaggerdoot I’m proud to have called colleagues and friends.