It’s been over six years that I’ve worked in some capacity for URBN inc. 4 years after I joined the company I got my “dream job”, the exact job I had originally set my sights on with exactly 0 qualifications for or any idea of how to get there. URBN has become like a second home. I’m used to it’s quirks. I’m used to my hour+ commute, the bad coffee, the ever tempting sea salt cookies at Jharoka, the still quiet of the photo studio when I get there in the morning. I’m oh to familiar with it’s good’s and it’s bad’s. It’s like a relationship that has always come back time and time again, even after I’m pretty sure I already tried to break up with it.

The past two years I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the best people. They are kindest and funniest people I’ve ever met, and I count myself infinitely lucky and blessed to call them my friends, even choosing to spend a large chunk of my limited free time with them. They feel like my family, and this summer especially I’ve leaned on them time and time again.

The thing is, I’ve known for a while the job wasn’t the right fit long term. There were a lot of reason, but most importantly I knew it wouldn’t make sense with my big long term goals. But it’s been comfortable. Oh, so comfortable. Even the crappy days. Even hearing the same complaints from the same people has had it’s own sort of comfort. Rarely is anything a surprise. It’s the same problems, different day. It’s shown me why so many people stay in the same job for so long, even when it’s a bad. There’s a comfort in the known, made even easier by working alongside friends.

I left that job last week. I took one that somehow checked almost every box I’ve had when thinking about what I’d need to leave my little nest, but it’s been more than bittersweet. Even when something is a much of a no-brainer as this new job is, the decision was still an incredibly hard one to make. It’s scary to let go of knowing the lay of the land and having your best friends by your side everyday. It’s scary to jump into the unknown and hope you’re not just making some huge mistake.

A friend reminded me that most areas of life are like exercise – If it’s a challenge it’ll help you grown, if something’s easy than you’re probably not really getting anywhere. It’s only when you’re uncomfortable that you’re growing. It sucks, but there’s so much truth to that. The moments I look back on in my life that were hard and I pushed through are the times I grew the most. The only regrets I have are some of the times I ran away when things got tough, and now I can see how close I was to the growth if I had stuck with it.

Change is scary, especially when you’re already content, but nothing will ever happen if you don’t get out of your comfy cozy bed in the morning and take a step forward. So here’s to taking the next step, and the one after that.