My Sabbatical & Career Break Journey
With forceful vengeance, 2020 and the inception of the pandemic compelled each of us to confront our lives with harsh clarity, and I was no exception. For me that moment of confrontation happened in February 2021. Staring at my computer screen during my remote job, I felt the weight of my 14 year career pattern of crushing workloads, unsupportive managers and multiple burnout cycles.
Was my life just going to be one debilitating job after another until I died?
Enter Roshida Dowe. A former corporate lawyer who, after she was laid off in her late 30s, decided to take a break, travel the world for one year and leave behind corporate America to help others take sabbaticals and change their lives.
The spark was ignited. I wasn’t sure how, but I was going to make my own adventure, take a break and travel the world for one year.
After a year of planning my break and a cross country move from California to Georgia, the moment to tell my boss I was leaving finally arrived. I don’t remember what I said, but after hanging up, I placed my hand on my heart, silently recognizing the emotion rising in me. It was done.
Seven months later, I sat leaning back comfortably with my legs stretched out watching the sunset on a balcony in Porto, Portugal. I reflected on a moment after my first experience of corporate burnout.
I remember sitting in a local park and staring out blankly, feeling like a bomb had dropped on me. I was splintered, cracked, fractured. Sitting on that balcony though, I quietly celebrated myself. I did it; I was here.
I had gathered the fragments, shards and ashes of 15 years to make a mosaic. I had collected myself from the wreckage and cleared a way to become all things new.
You can read more about my career break journey and other sabbatical resources via the links below.
Mermaids & Heights: Reflecting on my 2022 sabbatical
https://www.nyamadodoadji.com/journal/my-2022-sabbatical-reflections
What My Sabbatical Taught Me: Snapshot #1
What My Sabbatical Taught Me: Snapshot #2
https://www.nyamadodoadji.com/journal/what-my-sabbatical-taught-me-snapshot-2
What My Sabbatical Taught Me: Snapshot #3
https://www.nyamadodoadji.com/journal/what-my-sabbatical-taught-me-snapshot-3
What My Sabbatical Taught Me: Snapshot #4
https://www.nyamadodoadji.com/journal/what-my-sabbatical-taught-me-snapshot-4
What Did I Do During My Paid Year Without Work?
https://www.nyamadodoadji.com/journal/what-i-did-for-a-year-without-a-job
How I Paid For My Sabbatical
https://www.nyamadodoadji.com/journal/how-i-paid-for-my-sabbatical
How to Talk About Your Sabbatical to People Who May Not Understand
Start Planning for Your Winter Sabbatical
https://www.nyamadodoadji.com/journal/start-planning-for-your-winter-sabbatical