The End of an Era Part III

One day, on a whim, I was on a career website scrolling through and found a listing for a Communications Specialist at Pier 1.  I applied without giving it much thought, thinking that at the very least it could freshen up my application/interviewing skills.  And my experience with applying for jobs online has been that you don't ever hear back.  I prayed that God's will would be done and that I would be able to accept the outcome one way or another.

Well I heard back, the next day I believe, saying that they wanted to do a phone interview.  So I did the interview and the job kept sounding better and better.  I didn't have any prior knowledge to Pier 1's corporate culture, but it sounded a lot like Southwest.  Laid back, fun, but hard-working.  They liked me enough to call me in for an in-person interview and again, it kept getting better and better.  The position sounded a lot like the job I was already in, working with one other Communications Specialist, a Manager, and a Graphic Designer.  I thought it went well (but of course you never know), and then got the call that I was going on to yet another interview.  Again it went really well and I was confident, I left saying, all right God, if this is supposed to happen then I would love that!

And then I had one more assignment (if this feels like a long process to read about, don't worry it felt just as long going through it!) to turn in before they made their final decision.  Again, confidence + prayer.

And then I got it.  :)

I was so thankful that I had stepped out there and tried something and it had been successful.  And there was also a mix of nervous feelings too.  As most of you probably know, my now fiance is a priest, but coming out of seminary he was in a curacy program where the Bishop essentially tells him where to go, and long story short we thought that there was the possibility that he wouldn't be in Fort Worth anymore.  I wondered what would happen with this new job if we ended up in Brownwood or Breckenridge?  But yet again, God was faithful and he found out that he was going to stay in Fort Worth.  Whew!

I want everyone who has taken the time to read this to know that this transition is incredibly bittersweet to me.  It's not easy.  Saying goodbye to Southwest means saying goodbye to a great company that took a chance on me and has treated me so well.  It means saying goodbye to working every day with someone that I've gotten so close to.  And it means saying goodbye to working within footsteps of my mom.  All of which I've cried over.   But it also means trying something new and seeing what else I'm capable of.  It means working in the city that I'll be living in this time next year.  It means lunch dates with my fiance.  It means making myself more marketable if I eventually want to branch out again or return to Southwest.

To everyone that has been a part of my experience at Southwest, thank you and I'll miss you!