Previously: Brett has decided to resign from his job in Abu Dhabi and return to Australia …
“How do you feel?” I heard that in the office on my last day at work last week, and I heard it again at drinks with friends afterwards.
It’s an interesting question. When I first resigned, I felt a kind of elation at the prospect of starting something new.
Since then, I’ve been through the gamut.
It’s always a risk to leave a job, and there is — I admit — the fear that I’ve made a terrible mistake and I may never work again. But, at the same time, I have confidence in my ability not just to do what I can already do, but to learn new things and broaden my horizons.
It has also been hard to pull myself away from a group of friends who have sustained me emotionally over the past five years. I truly don’t know whether I will see them again.
So, in answer to the question: I feel elated and deflated at the same time. I am sad that I have to leave things behind, but ready, willing and able to face new challenges.
The clock doesn’t stop ticking.
As a friend of mine is fond of saying, onward and upward.
Update: I left the UAE on April 21 and arrived in Brisbane on April 22. More soon.
