The End of an Era...

Change is scary. Especially when you're entrenched in a situation. But you always hear that the best time to make a big change is when you're completely comfortable. And so, Friday was my last day at my job. Having been there nearly five years—and spending four of those in the same job—it was, as Peter Brady said, "time to change."

Tuesday I start a brand new job, my first one outside of the nonprofit field (not counting my time working retail and cooking), so it will hopefully prove to be a completely new experience for me. Of course, nothing is quite perfect, so the commute should prove to be slightly more challenging than my current going-against-traffic trip, but my hope is that I'll find this job less emotionally taxing, which will help me handle the traffic stress a little better.

The nearly five years I spent at IDSA weren't always perfect, but the opportunity to represent a field as exciting as industrial design (not to mention being able to dress casually every day) was pretty fantastic. I had the chance to meet people who designed some products that impact our lives—from my former boss, who designed the first BlackBerry that looked like a cell phone, to the person who led the team that designed the CD jewel case. And in 2007, I met the man who, 60 years ago, designed the Kikkoman soy sauce bottle. How cool is that?

Of course, what I'll miss most is the relationships I developed. Many of us spend more time at the office than at home, so your colleagues become your surrogate family. And I was tremendously fortunate to build friendships with some fantastically funny, smart and giving people. We laughed, we threw tantrums sometimes (maybe that was just me), we worked hard, we ate (a lot) and we had so much fun throughout the years. While I look forward to getting to know my new colleagues, I'll be taking a lot of memories with me.

So...on to the next chapter of my life. But as I look forward, to those of you who made my nearly five years at IDSA so memorable, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.