You know the story when you knew you had to change your life? Here is mine.

I was standing in a factory feeling hot, tired & stressed as I watched another vinyl record being pressed in a machine & then another & another.

Counting down the hours until the shift was over.

// 1

Tick tock. It took roughly 30 seconds to make a record, give or take the mood of the machine. Another record drops & another.

In a daze as the rushing of steam through pipes & whirring of mechanical sounds join together in a deafening symphony. A constant background noise.

// 2

"Is this it?" I remember thinking to myself as my hand moved to a panel of blinking dials and buttons which had been precisely calibrated through stressful trial and error. One notch to the right. Let's test that out.

Another record drops & another.

// 3

A vinyl record starts out as tiny vinyl pebbles and those pebbles are melted down into what resembles a hockey puck.

The puck is then transferred to a machine that presses on it with thousands of pounds of force. On either side are plates that have been etched with music.

// 4

The record is rapidly heated & cooled to form the circular shape & grooves in which the music lives. It then moves to another platform where any excess material is trimmed off to achieve the perfect circle.

Then it drops on the stack and the process repeats.

// 5

I had both the fortune & sometimes the curse of being good at my job. Good in the sense that my "numbers" were consistently high which allowed me to survive layoffs.

I had good teachers. I asked a lot of questions & wanted to move up quickly but the curse had other ideas.

// 6

Frequent meetings with management to brainstorm how to improve processes, training or daily output often put me in what felt like an inner circle. Conversations that often led to ideas of promotions & restructuring.

My current title was "Press Operator". I wanted more.

// 7

A new office position as a "Sales Engineer", yet to be created, was dangled in front of me for months previous to me standing there pondering life.

A job listing that was never typed up & likely never would be. They couldn't afford to lose me on the factory floor.

// 8

I understood. It's what was best for the company but when was I going to start thinking about what was best for me?

One more notch to right and little less steam. Let's test that out. Another record drops & another.

I needed more. This couldn't be it.

// 9

For several months, I had been trying to study HTML & CSS at night after work but 9 out of 10 times it would result in me falling asleep at my keyboard, letters racing across the screen while I slept.

It was not working. I had to make a change.

Change is scary though.

// 10

"I need to talk to you when you have time." is a simple sentence. Not too long, not too complex but it holds a lot of weight. A mystery packed into one line.

My boss stared at me after I said it as if those were supposed to be their words, not mine.

"Sure. Let's talk."

// 11

"I think...I want to quit"

-"Is something wrong?

"I just need more. I have to do something else."

-"Alright. I'll let them [management] know."

My boss was always very supportive and cared about her team. She did not seem surprised and encouraged me.

// 12

"We heard you are thinking about leaving us. Let's talk."

This turned into me explaining my ambitions & realizations that I needed to do what was best for me.

Lots of head nods & "We understand's" later, I gave them one last option. I would stay for a part-time position.

// 13

Days went by, a couple of more meetings. The part-time position was not going to be agreed on by management. More promises of a new position, "Just give it time."

A week had passed since I gave my two-week notice. I had one more meeting planned.

// 14

The owner flew in on Wednesday from Chicago, a weekly trip to the Nashville office. He wanted to chat.

An enjoyable conversation that ultimately led to me sticking to I would only stay if it was part-time. That was not happening. We shook hands and wished each other well.

// 15

On the last day of my two weeks' notice, I had one more meeting. They offered me a part-time position. Suddenly it was possible, only one thing had changed. Me.

I was not playing their game anymore. It had become clear that it was never going to be about my interests.

//16

I politely declined and returned to my machines to finish out my shift.

One more notch to the right and a little less steam. Let's test that out. Hey look at that, it's finally perfect.

Another record drops & another.

Time to clock out.

// 17

Putting yourself first can be the hardest thing in the world to do sometimes but if you don't do it, who will?

I was very fortunate to be able to leave that job & start studying web development but I could not have done it if I did not have others to support and help me.

// 18

I still have that support now & I'll never forget it. I hope that when you have your moment that you're standing there pondering life & the change you deserve that it will be possible for you too. I think it will be.

Don't doubt yourself for one second. I did for years.

// 19

If you're on a journey into web development, I wish you nothing but the best of luck in your learning & landing your next role. I'll be right there alongside many of you & can't wait to see how your stories progress.

Until then, stay strong & remember you 100% deserve it.

//